Alien Roses
by Poison-Droplets
Summary: The humans have left, and the people of Pandora couldn't have been more happy. But Parker Selfridge's sister didn't get to leave, and she's going to get back home no matter what she has to do. Tsu-tey/OC
1. Chapter 1

Quick little note to my AMAZING beta, Dannylionthe1st, thank you!

So this is my new story, Alien Roses. It's about a young woman named Rebecca, who happens to be the sister of Parker Selfridge, and she gets left on this planet. In this story, Tsu-tey managed to survive. He's still hurt extremely badly, but will live. Thanks for reading hope you enjoy!

Every story that I write, I listen to one song over and over again while writing it. So if you would like to listen to the song that I was listening to writing the chapter, I'm going to write it down before every chapter.

_Wild Horses-Susan Boyle_

**No copyright intended, all characters from the movie avatar belong to James Cameron.**

* * *

Jake Sully didn't think anyone could imagine the relief he felt as he watched the remaining humans board into their ships. Finally they would be free of this terrible plague that festered on their land, and they would be able to live peacefully. His grip on his gun tightened as Parker Selfridge walked by him. The man had a panicked look on his pasty face as he slowly waited to board the ship. God he hated that man. The mere thought that anyone would be so spineless made his blood boil. Jake had been raised to be a real man, and real men stood up for what they believed in. He'd seen the look in Parker's eyes when he had made his last ditch attempt to move the Na'vi away from Hometree. Jake had seen a flicker of fear before Parker had allowed him to go. And then he'd woken up with the Colonel punching him, Parker standing behind him like some kind of lapdog.

It was Dr. Max Patel who had saved Parker in the end. He told Jake that it would be better to let him leave then allow him to become a martyr. There was a brief scuffle as Parker tried one last desperate attempt to turn back the way he came, but he was forcibly put into the plane. Jake let out the breath he was holding and happily turned towards Norm. They'd been through a lot together, and he wanted nothing more than to give the man the Na'vi body that he deserved. But Norm had decided to remain human. There were few humans on the planet at this point, and Norm didn't want to risk going through the eye of Eywa. His avatar body was dead, and it was time to let that go. But he was happy, he had told Jake a few nights ago.

Norm reached up a hand to high five Jake, saying, "Finally! It took long enough to get rid of them!"

Laughing, Jake nodded. He stood unmoving, buffeted by the winds that the ship created. This meant they could create a whole new world on this planet. Though he wasn't sure what his position in the tribe would be. News had returned that Tsu'tey had been found. Injured beyond imagination, but he'd somehow managed to slow his fall by hitting the leaves of the trees. Leave it to that warrior to somehow manage to live through five gunshot wounds.

As he shaded his eyes from the sun, Jake wondered what his world would be like now. Would the RDA return for revenge? Would he constantly have to worry about that? But when he lowered his eyes and found Neytiri smiling at him, the worries disappeared. They would figure out something together, and whatever that would be, it would be for the best of the tribe.

She walked up to him and touched his arm gently. "You will rule in place of Tsu'tey for as long as needed, and then you will still be Toruk Makto."

Jake stared at her, silently asking how she could read him so easily. Neytiri just smiled softly at him before joining a group of Na'vi who were celebrating. He let out a breath, rested his hands on his hips, and tilted his head back to enjoy the sun on his face. His worries were unneeded, anything that happened would work. He would make sure it did. Eywa was with them.

* * *

Max Patel felt as though he might as well have been beating his head against a brick wall. Before the laboratory was shut down, he wanted to make sure that they had gone through every computer file. He was sure that the RDA would be back. How could they not come back? The planet had unobtanium, the precious metal that Earth desperately needed. There was no question in his mind that the RDA would let that go to waste. They weren't going to be removed as easily as they had been. He had been rubbing his forehead due to a headache when he found the file.

Not just any file, a file that only Parker Selfridge's password could get into. Of course they had gotten his password before he left, and Max had been eager to open the file. This could be the one file that would tell them why the RDA needed unobtanium so much, whether or not there were other places to find it, and perhaps it would be updated regularly. If they could somehow get into the personal files of the RDA, even if it was just for a small amount of time, perhaps they could predict when they would be returning.

But the file didn't contain any hidden RDA information that they didn't already have. As he put the password in, he couldn't believe that it was Parker Selfridge's own file that opened. As he watched the computer screen, another file opened next to Parker's. The picture of a young woman, stark red hair, wide green eyes, and a nose just like Parker's. Scanning the file, he realized that she was Parker's half sister, different fathers, and that she had been scheduled to arrive on Pandora the day the battle had been fought.

Sucking in a breath, he realized that he did remember a ship arriving. It was one of the ships that they had sent people home on, but he had a hard time believing anyone had gotten off that ship that wasn't a marine. Slapping a hand against his forehead, he wheeled his chair backward. A woman had gotten off that ship, a woman! Wheeling up to the screen again, he found the security tapes and pinpointed that day. The camera he was watching the tape from was the one that pointed directly at Parker's own room. And sure enough, when the Na'vi had started their attack on the compound, Parker had shoved a young woman with red hair into his own room.

A feeling of dread hit Max's core. Fast forwarding, he realized that the woman had never come out of that room, and they had never thought to check it. Max dragged the file onto the handheld flat screen that he always kept on his person. It was a burdensome square, as it didn't like to fold and fit in his pocket, but it was useful for moments like this. He found himself running through the halls of the facility, heart thundering in his chest.

Jake had to know about this. He had to know before left for the forest and Max wouldn't see him for another three months! This was a matter that involved both Na'vi and humans, therefore Max couldn't address this problem by himself. Max didn't want to admit that he was a little too nervous to address the problem himself. A woman? He'd never been good with women! His feet moved swiftly under him, carried him out of the building, barely allowing him time to whip an exopack over his face.

"Jake!" He yelled frantically, his voice echoing over the now deserted courtyard.

The monolithic blue man turned towards him with a large grin. Max hated to be the one that wiped that expression off of Jake's face. The day of a victory should be spent celebrating, not having to deal with women who didn't know when to get on the ship and off the ship. His grip tightened on the screen's edge. He fidgeted before he blurted out. "We have a problem."

Jake crouched so that he was at the man's height, and Max saw the edges of his eyes crinkle. "What do you mean Max? The jet's gone, Parker and his entourage have left, and we're finally free from the RDA. Did we miss someone?" He jokingly added.

Max slowly nodded, hating to see the expression on Jake's face. "Uh yeah." He scratched the back of his neck slowly. "A big someone."

* * *

"Tell me again Max, we did what?"

Jake still couldn't believe what Max was saying. Even Max didn't exactly believe what he was saying. "According to this file, Parker Selfridge had a sister that he brought with him. She's apparently residing in a room that is adjacent to Parker's, and has been listed as a 'restricted employee' of the RDA." The group was standing next to the compound, staring at it in trepidation.

Norm started to pace. He had been the most vocal about this situation, throwing out impossible ideas. He was very obviously distressed by the thought that a woman could be stuck on Pandora without wanting to be. "So you're saying that we missed getting Parker Selfridge's sister on that jet. And he did nothing to try and take her with him? Wouldn't you think that if your sister was still in the building, you would at least try and tell someone?" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean, I know I'd do everything in my power to get her on that ship with me."

Again, Max nodded. He was beyond annoyed now, and was starting to get angry. A red blush began to crawl up his neck, and the frustration showed every time he started talking. "Yes! I came to you to see what we should do about this, because I wasn't exactly sure how to go about fixing this. We have no way to contact that ship and get it back here, so either way we're stuck with her."

"This isn't good," Norm said shaking his head.

"There is only one way I see things going. We hold her prisoner until they come back," he paused then nodded. "I'm sure they will be coming back. In the meantime, we convince her to 'play nice' and help us build our new home." He shrugged at Jake's disbelieving look. Norm shot another disbelieving look at Max.

Holding up his hands, he added, "It's possible that she'll resign herself to her fate and help us.

"We don't know anything about this girl. And I think the only way we can figure this out is to go to Parker's room and actually talk to her!"

* * *

Rebecca Selfridge had never wanted to be on this planet in the first place. She was a shy, quiet woman trying to get her PhD. But her brother had wrote her a letter telling her that he wanted her with him. He guilt tripped her into visiting this planet, and she had caved. The ride here had been boring, cryo was nothing. She hated the feeling that four years had disappeared from her life, but at least now it was four years and not six. As soon as she had stepped out of the ship, she had stepped into chaos. She didn't realize that there was a battle going on. The men that she had ridden in with were all marines. They didn't even blink at jumping into a battle guns blaring, but she had been shocked. Her world had tilted dangerously, and Rebecca had been certain that she was going to faint. Then Parker had showed up, corralling her into what he said was a room for emergencies, and then he'd left. She had heard gunfire for what seemed like hours, and then a terrible silence.

She sat huddled on the couch, holding a glass vase in her hands like a weapon. She tried and forget the fact that she was stuck in this room. All she knew was that her brother had burst into the room in a panic, told her to not open the door for anyone other than him, and had then run out again. The worst thing was that he had locked her in this time. Claustrophobia was starting to get to her, clawing at her lungs and putting pressure on her chest. There were no windows in her room, no natural light to make her calm down. She had tried everything to force herself to be calm. But after three hours of yoga, Rebecca was ready to start screaming. All she could think was that something horrible had happened and she was going to rot in this room.

Her shaking hands bit into the edges of the vase until it emitted a whine. Gasping, she set it back on the coffee table and buried her hands in her long hair. Her riot of curls curtained her face as she forced herself to breathe. A soft sob escaped her mouth, and her shoulders shook as she constrained the tears inside her body. Earlier, the sounds that had come from the other side of the door had been enough to set her on edge. The screams had echoed through the hallways, and the sound of pounding feet had sent her into the closet in fear. She hated that she was so afraid, reduced to a mere mouse hiding in a dark closet with her knees drawn to her chest. The waiting was possibly the one thing that was making her panic rise in full force. What had happened?

When she heard the slide of a keycard outside her door, she leapt to her feet and vaulted over the coffee table. "Parker!"

But she skidded to a halt when two unfamiliar faces stared back at her. Frantically she scrambled backwards, turning her earlier excited run into a fearful skid. Clutching vase in her hands again, she faced the two men. If she was shaking it was only because of the weight of the vase, it had nothing to do with the fear tearing through her heart and mind. "Who are you?" She asked in anger.

The shorter and more hairy man spoke first, slowly while enunciating every word carefully. "My name is Max Patel; I work in the laboratory." He pointed to the tall thin man beside him. "This is Norm Spellman, he's an avatar driver."

God, he spoke to her like she was a child… or an animal. Keeping the vase firmly in grip, she nervously introduced herself. "Rebecca. Where's Parker?"

Max stepped forward into the room, but froze when the woman raised the vase in her hand threateningly. Hands up, he slowly inched towards her again. She was skittish. The woman had a crazed look in her eye, not that he could say he was surprised. She was backed into a room alone, while two men walked towards her. Max guessed that she had thought that they would hurt her, like any woman would in this situation. He was surprised that she looked only slightly like Parker. She had the thin long nose that he had, but that was where the similarities ended. Her long hair was a deep red, and fell in chaotic curls around her face. Her lips were full, a stark difference from the harsh thin lines Parker's had been. And she was tall, a goliath really. Even Norm had to look up a bit to meet her eyes, and he wasn't a short man. Max would admit that was intimidating.

"Parker is just outside. We were hoping that you could come out with us, he told us to come and get you."

What in the world had possessed him to say that? Max wanted to smack himself in the head for lying to a woman. But that was the only way he was seeing her leaving this small room, so he steeled himself to lie some more. Norm on the other hand, was all for lying. The only reason he could presume Parker leaving his sister alone on this planet would to have someone on the inside. He wasn't going to trust this woman no matter what she said.

Sizing the men up, Rebecca shook her head. "No, you see, Parker wouldn't have done that. No one has ever been in here other then Parker, and I'm not going to leave without Parker's say so."

Max nodded. "He told us to come and get you. I would say that's his say so."

"No. That doesn't sound right. I'm telling you this for the last time, I am not leaving." She raised the vase with a clear threat.

Stepping into the conversation, Norm walked towards her with his hands in his pockets. "So your name's Rebecca then? Look, we think that your brother is in trouble, and maybe you could help us. He said that you would, and that you could."

Slowly, she set down the vase. Parker was in trouble? It wasn't unusual for her to be the one that was helping him. She had always been the one that got him out of trouble. Parker had a way of acting that always got the wrong people mad at him. His father had been the short rather frumpy man, and hers had been breaching seven feet. With this thinking in mind, it was rather obvious that she would be the protector, rather than him. But her height had never given her the kind of pleasure that it had Parker. Like any tall woman, she had been painfully shy. Her height was something that made her extremely self conscious, and so far nothing had been able to change that.

Rebecca sighed. "Look, I'll come with you, but no funny business. I just want to get to Parker and go back home." She started to walk towards them, but paused at the last minute. "What was all the shooting about anyways? I thought I heard gunfire not too long ago."

Max waved a hand in the air. "Oh that was nothing, just some target practicing. Now, if you would please come this way."

Nodding, Rebecca made her way towards them, not feeling the confidence she should be. Something just wasn't right about this situation, but she didn't know what it was. Unknowingly walking into a world of trouble, she followed them out of the room willingly.

It was the first time she had seen sun in a while. Real sun was nothing like the florescent lights in her room. They were soft on her eyes, even her tanning bed didn't make her eyes burn as the real sun did. Already, Rebecca had raised her arm to cover her eyes as she was temporarily blinded.

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Thank you for reading! Reviews are loved. 3 Emm


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Part 2 is out, finally. Thanks again to my lovely beta! She's amazing.

* * *

Walking down the hallway, Rebecca tried to calm her heart. It was pounding against her ribcage as if it wanted to pound its way out. But she wasn't about to give in to the nerves that threatened to make her knees weak. She straightened her shoulders and reminded herself that she would be strong. Her brother needed her, and she would be there for him. She slowly took a breath through her nose, slowly calming her body down. Her heart refused to slow down though, and Rebecca willed it to stop entirely if only her pulse would not be so loud in her ears.

"So, why are you here?" Rebecca looked to her left, surprised that one of the men would actually speak to her.

"Parker asked me to come." She looked him up and down before raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Norm. Norm Spellman." He looked at her awkwardly before the group fell into silence.

"So, Rebecca, what is it that you do for a living?" Max asked, finally breaking through the tension. She remembered his name simply because it was a generic name. Norm was a name that required her to actually think, and with these two she wanted to be as aloof as possible.

"I'm a nurse." Short, terse, that was the way to be with anyone you didn't want to deal with for a long time. She didn't care what they thought, what they wanted, or what they thought of her. Parker was the one goal on her mind right now. The quicker she could get to Parker the more at ease she would feel. Then she relax, and finally see her brother again after six long years.

Norm walked ahead of them and moved through the sliding door before she could reach. Classic male. She snorted, before grabbing on a face mask. It suctioned to her face, and Rebecca couldn't help but grimace. She'd never been a fan of the exopacks, she'd tried one on while she was on Earth and had hated it even then.

As she walked by Max and through the doors, she ducked her head and mumbled a quick, "Here we go."

The sun stung her eyes as she stood out into the open air. It was so bright here on Pandora, unlike Earth. Back home, the sun was nothing but a circular haze on the gray sky. She had read in books that there had been blue skies once, but she couldn't imagine it until she had stepped off of the ship here in Pandora. Her eyes watered from the light, and she raised a hand to block the sun for a moment.

"It's a little bright the first time you see it, isn't it?" Max asked as he laid a hand on her arm.

Rebecca blinked a few more times before nodding. Lowering her arm, she stared up into the sky, avoiding looking directly at the sun. "Yeah, it's so different from home." Looking at the Max, she smiled tightly. "I'm sure you remember the state that Earth is in." At his nod, she added, "Then you realize why the RDA is here then."

She tried to walk down the steps as carefully as possible. After four years of being in cryo, and having all of this excitement in such a short amount of time, her knees shook alarmingly. She didn't want to fall in front of these two men. The last thing that she wanted to do was to embarrass her brother. From the rumors she had heard on Earth, he had made quite a name for himself here. Rebecca didn't want to be the little sister that ruined that for him.

So instead of looking up as she had first planned, she focused on her feet. Every step was planned out before hand, since she was carefully paying attention so she didn't fall. But each step was making her knees feel closer to collapsing.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, she slowly collected her breath. She had made it down the steps without falling. Now all she had to do was be ready for everyone to be staring at her. She was used to the staring, a woman that was six foot four inches was not something that was seen every day on Earth. In fact, her height mostly made people point rather than stare. As Earth had gotten older, it seemed like humans had started to shrink. The average height for a woman was about five feet. The average height for men was still about six feet, which was the reason why Rebecca had landed square with the tall genes. Her father had been a giant among men, reaching about six foot eight inches. Her mother always used to joke that he had been her Goliath. Rebecca had just been the daughter to inherit those genes.

She closed her eyes and told herself to focus. Now was not a time to be walking down memory lane, but to be making her brother proud. It was time to think like a Selfridge and actually take charge of the situation. Or, at the rate that these two men were walking, she would never get to see her brother. But Rebecca was so nervous she was ready to bolt. Her entire stomach felt like it was going to cave in on itself. So she took another deep breath through her nose, and held it for a few seconds. Nothing bad was going to happen to her, she would find Parker and be done with it. But Rebecca couldn't help but get the feeling that something wasn't being told to her. Shaking her hands, she rolled her shoulders and looked up.

She had expected to see a large amount of military personal walking around, or maybe pausing when they saw the giant walking down the step. She had even expected to see Parker in handcuffs at the end of the stairs, or something along that line. But instead, she was faced with no humans at all. Stunned, she stared around at the people… creatures… things walking around or speaking to the remaining humans. She knew that these had to be the Na'vi, the indigenous peoples that lived on the planet. Still, even knowing this fact, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Rubbing at her eyes, she blinked again. Seeing these creatures, it was like something out of a dream. She didn't expect to see one at all. Parker was always so protective of her that she didn't expect to be introduced to most of the staff, let alone the natives. And it was a rare treat to meet something humanoid that was actually taller than her. She watched Norm walk towards one of the Na'vi, an extremely heathen looking one with feathers in his hair and tiny cuts all over his body. They saw her staring and waved her over, but all of a sudden Rebecca's vision was tunneled.

They walked towards her, and she could vaguely hear them trying to talk to her. Squinting, she vainly tried to focus on what they were saying. Unfortunately, all she could hear was a rather annoying blur of words that ended up sounding like babble. Shaking her head slightly, she raised a hand to her head. It was like she was underwater. All she could hear were dulled sounds, and her vision was continually getting smaller and smaller.

As she realized she was going to faint, Rebecca weaved where she was standing. "You need to get those cuts looked at before they get infected." That was the nurse in her speaking. But she continued to weave, and the tunnel vision worsened. It was the worst time for her to be startled into oblivion. Now Parker was going to be livid. His sister, the nurse, couldn't even stand the sight of a native. How in the world was she going to treat the wounded? "You know, I really should go find Parker," she murmured before she tumbled forward in a dead faint.

Max cried out as the woman fell. He couldn't imagine what was wrong with her. She couldn't be poisoned. She couldn't be ill because she had walked this whole way without falling at their feet. So he stood watching her body tilt and wondered how the world had suddenly slowed down. He watched in slow motion as Norm desperately tried to grab the woman, and Jake wrapped his arms around her crumpling form.

Jake slowly lowered Rebecca to the ground, brows furrowed with worry. It was an odd thing to see eyebrows on a Na'vi. The natives didn't have them, and it was one of the ways that he could always pick Jake out of a crowd. Norm was already bent over the girl, gently shaking her shoulders and trying to get to her open her eyes. She was propped up against the stairs, her head bent at an odd angle. Reaching down, Max gently shifted her head so that she wouldn't have a neck ache when she awoke.

"Jake!" Neytiri had reached them, and she was scowling down at the woman as if she was scum from a lake that had somehow managed to stick to her. "Is this the girl you told me about?" She looked nervously at the woman laying on the ground.

"This is the woman that was left behind yes."

Norm stood quickly. "She said that she was a nurse. Perhaps we could convince her to help us with the injuries from the fight."

"Perhaps." Jake looked at the woman with a skeptical look. "I doubt she'd help though. She's Parker Selfridge's sister. If she's anything like him she's not even going to consider helping us."

"But before she fainted, she wanted to look at your cuts Jake!" Max pointed out. "If she thought of that before she fainted, perhaps she would help. It seems likely that someone worried about your injuries would also be worried about others."

Neytiri shook her head and made a tsking sound with her mouth. "I doubt it. As Jake said, Parker would have much influence on his sister. She doesn't realize he's already left. She knows nothing of the Na'vi, or the plants on this planet that can heal. She could harm us, whether she planned it out or not."

A low groan made them all turn towards the woman on the steps. Rebecca saw only blurry shapes as she started to come to. She though she was having a dream that she'd gone to visit Parker and saw some kind of blue alien instead.

Another groan escaped her mouth when she realized that it wasn't a dream. Sitting up, she waved at the hands that suddenly settled on her shoulders and tried to push her back down. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She blew a breath out of her mouth and shook her head. "Sorry to faint."

Looking up, she realized that there were now two Na'vi before her instead of one. Shaking her head, she added, "You are extremely tall."

Reaching up towards Max, she grasped onto his arm and pulled herself into a standing position. When she weaved, hands reached towards her again. Growling, she slapped them away. "I'm not a child, I can stand on my own thank you very much. But I could use some orange juice if you had it. And where is Parker?"

She was startled, yet again, when Max Patel shook his head. "We don't have orange juice here." At her look he shrugged. "It was expected in the next shipment."

"Well then get me something with sugar in it." She growled at him. He gave her a stern look.

"I'm sorry, did I stutter? If I don't get sugar I'm going to faint again." She smiled tightly at him. "If you don't, I'm sure Parker would resolve this issue for us."

Max's lips tightened into a thin line, but he nodded tightly. She watched him entire the building to assure herself that he was actually going to get her something to drink. "I'd like to sit down again."

She sat with a thump onto the steps, and wasn't surprised when they all stared at her. "There's no need to stare, I'm fine. Go back to what you were doing."

"Why does she keep asking for Selfridge?" The female Na'vi asked in her native language. It was at this moment that Rebecca was glad that she had took the time to learn the language before she had arrived on the planet. When she had learned that there was a chance of her coming to live with Parker on Pandora she had done all the research she could. She learned the language for fun, and had devoured the informational books about the planet. It was fascinating to learn about a place other then earth had could contain life.

"Look, I just want to know where my brother is." Rebecca retorted. "These two men told me that my brother was in trouble and needed my help. Is he hurt? Is that why you're taking so long? I want to see my brother! I don't understand why this could be taking so long." She didn't answer in the woman's language. As of now, she didn't know whether or not Parker wanted her to converse with the natives. If it somehow got out that she knew the language, she wasn't exactly sure how he would react. "As of now, it seems like this would be moving faster if I tried and find him myself, since Norm is just standing there and Max is getting me a drink."

She could see both of the Na'vi get angry at her words. A red blush climbed up her neck, but she refused to admit that she was embarrassed to have unintentionally insulted the two men. She hadn't meant to be so rude, but it was impossible for her to understand what was taking them so long. If Parker was in trouble, she should be with him now, not later. But the more she asked about him, the less they wanted to take her to him. Frustration was clouding her mind, but she didn't know what to do about it. She couldn't wander off and find him on her own! She knew the basic layout of the place, but she didn't know where Parker was. At this point, she was ready to tear at her own hair.

By the time Max returned with an apple juice, the tension between the four people on the steps could have been cut with a knife. Slowly handing the juice to Rebecca he asked, "What happened?"

Neytiri answered, "I have better things to be doing right now," and left, while Jake and Norm continued to glare at the woman on the steps. Astonished that something bad could have happened that fast, Max turned to look at Rebecca. She was sitting on the steps with a vacant expression on her face, delicately sipping at the juice. Sensing his eyes on her, she looked up and met his eyes.

"Yes? Is there something I can do for you Max?"

He blinked a couple times at her cool tone. "Uh, well." He scratched the back of his neck. "You said you were a nurse?" At her nod, he continued. "You see, there was a rather large fight here just a few hours ago. We still have a lot of wounded that are set in a camp not too far away from here. It would be a huge help if you could assist some of the healers. I know that Neytiri voiced concerns about you not knowing how to use the planets here medicinally, but that can be taught."

Rebecca's blood pressure jumped. "You're asking me… what?"

"To help our people since you are a nurse?" Jake answered with a grin.

Speaking slowly and annunciating the words as if they didn't speak English, Rebecca said, "I. Want. To. See. Parker."

Norm shook his head. "I don't understand why you wouldn't help us. As a nurse, isn't it in your better nature to be helping that are hurt?"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Rebecca snapped. "I want to see my brother! How hard is that to understand? Why are you trying to change the topic?"

"Parker wasn't interested in this planet at all. He wanted the unobtanium, and that was it." Norm replied. "We didn't expect any help from the RDA. But you could help us quite a bit.

A red blush returned to Rebecca's cheeks, and a spark returned to her blank expression. Setting the juice on the step beside her, she stood and swiped at the dirt on her backside. "I'll say it one more time for you. I want to see my brother, now!" She gritted between her clenched teeth.

She caught the look that passed between Norm and Max, and she felt anger spike her blood pressure. Walking closer to the two, she asked tightly, "What? What was that look?"

Max gulped before answering. "Well, actually… You see… There was a slight… well no, not slight but…"

"Your brother left on the same ship you came to, all of the humans except a choice few are gone. Except you." Jake answered.

Rebecca stilled. "What do you mean?"

"It means that you are here without our knowledge. And that you are stuck here until we can somehow figure out how to send you back home." Jake told her.

Groping for the railing behind her, Rebecca sank down onto the steps. Her expression was stunned. She couldn't believe what they were saying. She was stuck? Where was her ship? The one that she had arrived on? She shook her head. "That's not possible."

Had Parker known about this? Did he plan it? What other reason would he have to lock her in that room? He must have known that they would be attacked and forced onto those ships, so why the hell would her brother had left her alone. "And this would be the battle I heard while in that room? It was a battle between the humans that Parker worked for, and…" she pointed at Jake. "Them."

Max nodded, and then leaned towards her as if to pat her on the shoulder. She flinched, "Don't touch me!" She slapped at his hand. "You lied to me asshole! Get away from me!"

It seemed as if Jake didn't like the idea, but Max hustled both him and Norm away before they could question him. Meanwhile, Rebecca remained on the steps rubbing at her chest. The clenching pain was back, and she could only put it to heartbreak. Her brother had left her on this planet? By herself? And after everything that she had done for him, spending five years in cryo sleep. She'd never get those years back!

Head in her hands, she tried to figure out what she would do now. The ship couldn't come back until it returned to earth. If it couldn't return, that meant that she was utterly stuck here for a least a decade. Her chest clenched again at the thought. She couldn't stay here! She didn't know anyone. She didn't even know what she would do here. Would she end up living in the jungle fighting off everything that came in her sight? Would she end up dying? She sent a prayer to heaven for some kind of guidance.

Why in the world would her brother ask her to come here? Groaning, she dug her fingernails into her head. She didn't want to have a panic attack, not again. Maybe later, when she was settled down for the night she could cry. But now she had to regain her mentality. A few tears slid down her cheek before she dashed them away with rough hands. Pinching her arms, she gritted her teeth and focused on the task at hand.

The most important thing right now would to be dealing with the question of how she was going to protect herself. She hadn't given the people here any reason to take care of her. Rebecca had never liked to be a burden. Max had said something about her helping out with some injuries that the natives had obtained during the fight. She had to fight down the urge to believe that they actually deserved it. She was on her brother's side of this fight, but she knew how to heal people.

Maybe if she helped with the natives, Norm and Max would allow her to stay here at the base. In return, she would do everything within her power to heal their people and keep them alive. She lifted her head. Making eye contact with Max, who she wasn't surprised to see was watching her from a few yards away, she nodded at him. When he walked to her, she said, "I'll help the injured." She raised her hand when he smiled. "But on a few conditions. I want to be taken care of. I don't expect the golden treatment. But I want protection, food, water, and shelter."

Max nodded slowly. "We would have given to that you no matter what you chose. But we will be glad that you will help us out." Holding out a hand, he continued to smile at her. "Come with me. We're housing the wounded here until a new Hometree can be found. You'll be working mostly outside since the Na'vi can't breathe our air."

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Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! Don't worry about the flamers because I'm not. So, rate and reviews would be wonderful! Thanks for reading my story darlings!

-Emm


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty everyone! Part three is out! Time to meet Tsu'tey. Thanks again to my LOVELY beta. She's amazing.

If you're interested in songs, this one was the Glee Soundtrack for me, lol.

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"Get back here you little twerp!" Rebecca growled.

The young Na'vi child had slipped out of her hands for the second time today. She was supposed to be helping out. As soon as she had arrived at the village, the healers had thrown her into work. And for the next four hours she had been corralled here and there, shouted at, and even spit at. Most of the Na'vi didn't want her to work on them. They didn't trust her medical experience, and Rebecca couldn't blame them for that. She obviously didn't know as much as the other healers.

But this little kid was obviously the spawn of Satan. He had a look in his eye like he was going to bite her as soon as she turned around when he first arrived. Now Rebecca had teeth marks all up and down her arms. She also had a welt across her side from where he had kicked her when she was trying to put a bandage on his leg. He would only do this when the others weren't looking, the sneaky little brat. And to top it all off, this was the second time that he had wiggled out of her reach and run off.

She was a professional for God's sakes! Why couldn't she handle one child? Of course, that child happened to be as big as her, but that was no excuse. Rebecca figured that he thought she was done each time that she stood up to get more supplies. But every time she turned around and yelled at him to come back, he was already long gone! The kid just couldn't interpret her tone of voice, or didn't want to. She was fiercely reminded of human teenage boys. Like a human, he didn't listen well, he didn't follow directions, and was constantly getting into trouble.

Rebecca slowly stood and dusted off her pants. The other healers were staring at her, some of them shaking their heads and others giggling behind raised hands. She would agree it was a humorous situation, but only later once it was done and she didn't have to go get the boy again. Her back was aching, and all this running around tailing this kid wasn't helping. She had to clamber over roots and fallen logs, ducking under low hanging branches just to get to the kid. Rebecca felt like she was in some war movie.

Grumbling under her breath, she shoved a branch away from her face. It felt like the little twerp had taken a path that only he would be able to get through, even though he was the same size as she was. A few hours ago they had brought in yet another wounded soldier, this one they hustled by her before she could catch a glimpse. By the way everyone had acted after he had been towed by she had a feeling that he was important to the clans.

Hearing a twig snap behind her, she spun around and grabbed onto the shoulder of the boy behind her. "Ha! Gotcha!" She grabbed him by the tip of his elongated ear, and towed him behind her. "I learned your tricks the last time. Now you're going to sit down where you are supposed to and not move until I'm finished!" She was still speaking in English, and knew that he probably couldn't understand her at all. But she was sure that her point was getting across.

Shoving him back onto the log where she was working, she shook her finger in his face and bent to start working on his leg again. When it raised, she slapped at him. The kid was grinning at her. The goofy grin stuck on his face made her shake her head and grin back. She'd give it to him. For a tall, freakishly blue alien, the kid was a cutey.

Tightening the wrapping around his leg, she patted his calf. "Alright, you're all set now." When he didn't move, she nodded her head at him and pointed away from her. "Go on, you're as healed as I'm going to get you to be." When he jumped up and started sprinting away, she yelled after him, "Don't put too much weight on that leg!"

What was the use? The kid was going to put weight on it whether she told him in English or Na'vi, so it didn't matter either way. Sighing, she dipped her hands back into the water she had brought with her. Jake Sully had managed to find her a bowl, and Rebecca had made a long trip to find a water source. Jake had been kind enough to tell her where the water was. Of course his directions were half as Na'vi as something distracted him. It took her longer than she expected to find the water. She could tell that some of the Na'vi were laughing at her "imcompetence" but she didn't care. She was new to the planet!

So far her experience had been so incredibly fun! She thought sarcastically. What a perfect vacation land! Rebecca snorted. Her thoughts had turned drastically towards the point where tiredness ruled over her entire mind. She shouldn't have been tired, she'd been asleep for four years, but Rebecca had ruled it down to jet lag.

"How are you holding up?"

Rebecca looked over her shoulder when Jake spoke. Smiling tiredly, she rubbed at her neck. "It's just like med school. I go home feeling like I should be one of the patients."

A laugh burst from Jake's chest, startling Rebecca with the volume of its noise. She would never get used to that man's laugh. So far she had heard it four times. Each time she'd heard it she had jumped. Not from fear or even that he had taken her off guard. His laugh was so incredibly loud! Even with warning Rebecca was positive that she would still jump sky high every time she heard it.

"Well I'm not surprised that you're tired. You've been working hard over here." Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, didn't exactly expect you to work that hard."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"I know I know!" He jokingly held up his hands. "It's just that you're Parker's sister, and he didn't do much good for this planet."

Wiping her hands on her jacket, she pursed her lips. "So I've heard. Max told me all about that situation before I left with you. I still have a hard time believing that Parker would do all this. He's never been the kind of person that was… lethal."

"Will you walk with me?" Jake held his hand out to the side. When Rebecca fell into step with him, he continued. "My theory is that your brother didn't exactly come up with the plan on his own. There was a colonel who seemed to be the one that was running the show behind your brother. Parker gave me a chance to move the Omaticaya clan, while Colonel Quaritch didn't want to give me even that."

"Yeah, that sounds like Parker. He was never the kind of person that had much of a spine." When Jake shot her a look, Rebecca shrugged. "He's my brother, I'm allowed to say things about him. And it's true, he was always more of a bookworm than anything else. I didn't even know why they sent him here in the first place, and now I guess I know why. They didn't want someone that would think to interfere with their destructive plans and Parker was the perfect person to do so." She shook her head. "Man, I can't believe none of us saw that before all of this happened."

"Again, you surprise me." Jake answered, truly surprised at her reaction. He was expecting her to defend her brother, or fight tooth and claw against the truth. "How are you taking this so well?"

"It's not the first time this has happened," Rebecca said wryly. "Parker has always been the scapegoat in jobs. His first one he was sent to yell at the boss while everyone watched. He got fired. His second job he stood in at a press conference where the company got roasted. He got fired from that one too. I could continue. He's never been able to say no to anyone, so it's no surprise that he fell into this trap. I just wish I had been here to talk some sense into him."

"I'm not so sure that it would have helped. There was more than a few people trying to talk some sense into him, and it didn't work out that well."

Rebecca grinned. "A sister always has a hold on her brother. Especially since most sisters don't mind hitting their brother upside the head because you can't be fired from a bloodline."

Jake laughed again, ignoring Rebecca when she flinched. "Yeah I guess that's true isn't it?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Is there anything else that you need me for? I've been here for four or five hours now, and it seems like things are starting to die down."

"That was what I was coming to talk to you about actually." He stopped walking and gestured towards a building off to the side. "There was a new patient that came in a few hours ago, you saw right?" When she nodded he continued. "He's the leader of this clan. But he was shot at least five times, and none of the healers here have had much experience removing bullets. I would do it myself, but the only time I've ever done it has been on the field. I'd like him to be as comfortable as possible and thought maybe you had removed bullets before?"

"I've removed a few while I was interning. I'd be happy to help, but I'm going to need more than just my bare hands." She pointed towards the main building. "If you could go as Max if he has any tweezers, a needle and thread, gauze, and maybe a knife?"

Jake nodded slowly.

"Do you want me to write that down for you?" She asked with a grin.

"No, no I think I got it. You head over there, just tell them that I sent you. It's the old avatar compound, so everything is set up so that you can reach things as well as the Na'vi."

As Rebecca walked towards the small building, she felt as though she should have asked for a knife beforehand. If this guy was so important, would they just let her in without question? That would be a big fat no. If Rebecca was told that she was supposed to guard her king as he died, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be letting anyone near him. But then again, if they thought that she could save him, they'd let her in, right?

She let out a quiet moan, rubbing her hands against her back as she walked towards the compound. The low heels on her feet were not the kind of shoes anyone should wear while climbing around in the rainforest. It was turning out to not be her day. She was so tired that she was stumbling, and at this point she felt like she could also be a little drunk. She wasn't made to be running around like this. Sure she could walk around a hospital until the world ended, but leaping over logs and being so tense around these Na'vi people was really taking its toll on her.

But there was just one more patient, and she could probably do this. Nurses didn't usually extract bullets. That was a surgeon's job and they were very good at it. But Rebecca had assisted with many bullet removing procedures, and had taken one out before. That's right, one.

There were clan warriors in front of the building, and when she walked towards them they tightened their grip on their spears. She raised a hand and continued to walk by them. "Take it easy fellas, I'm here because Jake Sully sent me."

A spear slapped against her stomach, stopping her in her place. The warrior then told her, "He has not told us he was sending you."

Rebecca understood why they didn't trust her, she wouldn't trust them either. Of course, this could have all been avoided if Jake had managed to walk over here with her and tell the guards that it was okay for her to go in. She knew he had a lot on his mind, but why did he think she would be able to freely walk in when she was a stranger to them?

And she was tired of not speaking in Na'vi to the tribes. Yes Parker would be angry that she had spoken with them, but he wasn't coming back for another ten years. Growling up at the Na'vi warrior in front of her, she answered in his native language, "Jake Sully sent me here to get the big metal balls out of your leader. So if you want him to live and no die from a fungus eating away at his body, you will move aside."

The warrior paused for a moment, clearly startled that she knew his language. "How do I know that you were sent by Toruk Makto?"

Rebecca rubbed her back again. She really needed to sit down. "Did he mention that he was sending someone to heal this guy?" When the warrior slowly nodded, she pointed to herself. "I'm the healer."

Apparently that did the trick, because they slowly stepped aside and nodded to her. She rolled her eyes and walked past them. Rebecca would never get used to the clothing that they wore. She was still startled every time that she saw one of the Na'vi wearing so very little. Sure it wasn't like they cared. In fact she was pretty sure that they all wore very little in all of the clans. But it was startling! She knew that she wouldn't be able to wear clothing like that, she would look like some kind of albino fish next to these warriors. A dead albino fish.

Inside the building, Rebecca could immediately see where they had laid out the leader of the… whatever clan. The sun was setting and they hadn't turned on any lights in the building, leaving the entire building cast in shadow. She could see the tiny dots on the Na'vi starting to glow, something that she had heard about but was still fascinated by. She had simply thought that they were freckles, but the fact that they glowed was enough to make her faint. The people on this planet were incredible.

She was stopped on the way to the bed by yet another warrior. As she went through the entire interrogation process again, she continued to sneak glances at the warrior laid out on the bed. He was clearly in pain. His chest heaved every few seconds or so, but in erratic movements that made her think that perhaps his heart was beating irregularly. She saw him arch his back once, his head moving side to side as he battled with the pain raging through his body. She found herself pitying him. The man was obviously in pain, and the nurse in her desperately wanted to help him.

"Let her through Ilai'ya." Jake had returned apparently.

When the warrior stepped aside, Rebecca brushed past him. She assumed that Jake would follow her, and was pleased when he set the tools down next to her.

"Max said to tell you that the clamps he sent down are for--"

"Prying open the bullet wound, yes I know that." She was already examining the warrior. He was bigger than many of the other warriors she had seen. His chest more barreled and his muscled harshly defined. There was still war paint on his face, something that spiked her pity to another level. The poor man had been fighting for his people, and to end up like this?

Pulling the blanket off of him, she winced when she saw the five different bullet holes. "Wow. He really managed to get it, huh?" Without waiting for an answer, she leaned down to put her shoulder to his. She propped him up enough to get her hand underneath his back and ran her hands up and down it. Three of the bullets had gone through his back, but the other two were still inside him. She gently laid him back down. "Well at least we only have to dig out two of the bullets. And they don't look like they're in places that should be causing him this much pain."

"Are you saying bullets don't hurt Doctor Selfridge?"

She shot Jake an annoyed glare. "No, I'm not saying they hurt. I'm saying that they shouldn't be causing him quite this much pain." She smoothed a hand over the warrior's forehead. "What is his name?"

"Tsu'tey." Jake quickly went from joking to serious. The man could switch moods like no one she knew. He pointed towards the warrior's hair. "They cut off his queue."

"His queue?" Rebecca was already washing her hands again. "What's that?"

She watched as Jake pulled his long braid over his shoulder. He showed her the end of his hair, and she watched with interest as tiny pink feelers waved in the air at the end of it. "We use these to connect to Eywa. When I found him, he begged me to kill him." He stared down at the man who he had come to admire. "I couldn't do it. But I think that could be the cause of his pain."

Rebecca carefully gathered the warrior's hair at the back of his neck and spread it out beneath him. Sure enough, his hair was shorter then she had seen any other Na'vi's hair. A groan escaped his mouth when she moved his hair causing her brows to furrow. "I don't know what to do about that Jake. I wish I did, I really do. But that's something that I've never had to deal with before. Perhaps one of your healers will know what to do, but I don't. Any chance of having some kind of numbing plant on this planet?"

"Not that we have on hand."

She stared at Jake in the orange light. It was too bad that the warrior would have to lose his contact to their deity. She knew how important that was to the race, at least from what she had read in the books that had been published about them. But she didn't like to lose patients, especially when she was the only one that was trying to heal them.

"Hold him down will you?" She ripped some of the gauze off of the bundle Jake had brought for her. Leaning over the warrior's head, she pried open his jaws and settled the gauze between his teeth. She didn't want him screaming and upsetting the warriors outside the door. If that happened, she wasn't positive that even Jake could stop them from killing her.

Jake had a hold of the warrior's shoulders. Rebecca could see that it was a firm grip, and she trusted the man to hold Tsu'tey down once she started digging. Nodding at Jake, she grabbed the clamps and pushed them into the first wound. Immediately, Tsu'tey started to squirm. Gasping, she pulled what little of the clamps she had gotten into the wound out, and glared at Jake. "I told you to hold him down! Squirming around is not going to help in this situation!"

"I know! He's a lot stronger then he looks, and I wasn't ready for him to start moving that much!"

She growled at him and then turned back to the open wound before her. The blood had started to flow from it again, and she gritted her teeth. Stupid, idiotic, jarhead! Pushing the clamps back into the wound, she spread them so that she could see into the wound. Her hands were covered in blood already, leaving her to believe that he had severed at least a few veins if not an artery. Wiping her hands on some of the left over gauze, she spread it on his chest to try and keep him as clean as possible. Grabbing the tweezers, she peered into the wound and tried to see the bullet in the dim light. "Really, do you not have flashlights here?"

A click from above her head resulted in a beam of light illuminating the bullet hole. Looking at Jake, who had replaced his hand with his elbow and was now holding the flashlight, she grumbled, "Thanks."

Now she could see the bullet, it was resting against a rib, but it didn't look like it had severed the bone. Reaching into the wound with the tweezers, she winced as Tsu'tey started writhing. She grabbed onto the bullet and eased it out of the wound, quickly taking the clamps out of the wound as well.

"Would you hurry up! I can't hold onto him, the flashlight, and keep my sanity at the same time!"

Rebecca chuckled at Jake's comment. "Not good at multi tasking, jarhead?"

The other bullet came out just as easy, though the wound bled more than the other had. But when the last bullet had been removed, Tsu'tey stopped moving. Rebecca figured that he had either passed out or had simply gone comatose from the pain. Threading the needle, she swiped a hand across her forehead. Stitching patients up was easy, though it was easier when they couldn't feel it.

"He'll have some nasty scars," she commented.

Jake nodded and stood, looking around the building which was now black. "I'll be right back, I'm going to see if there's a healer that knows what to do about his queue. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

Rebecca pursed her lips. "Yeah." She pointed the needle towards the door. "There are mammoth guards just outside the door. I doubt I could get hurt if I tried."

In truth, she was shocked that Jake would trust her enough to leave her alone with him. She'd only been on this planet for a few hours, and she was Parker Selfridge's sister! It was then that she noticed he had taken the knife with him. Wrinkling her brow, she whipped her head around to stare at the door. Sure enough, there was a warrior now inside the building, staring at her like he was ready to attack should she make one wrong move.

She grinned. So the jarhead wasn't as stupid as she thought he was. Leaning back over the last unstitched wound, she slowly side the needle through the flesh. No one had ever accused her of having horrible needlework, and she was rather proud of these stitches. They would leave smaller scars. Not the jagged ugly kind that so many scars ended up as, but clean scars.

Rebecca froze when Tsu'tey's stomach moved under her hands. Looking up his chest, her eyes widened when she saw his eyes blink open. She quickly finished the stitching. The man had some steel in him, because he was wide awake as she stitched and yet somehow managed to lie still. She could feel the muscles bunch underneath her hands, but he didn't move an inch.

Once she was finished, she moved up to his head. Leaning over him, she said in Na'vi, "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

His eyes slowly focused on her, and it was then that anger contorted his face. "Get away from me skywalker scum." His voice was laced with pain.

A frown marred her face. "Excuse me? I just spent the last hour pulling bullets out of you." Every few words she would stumble over, and would instead throw in the English version of it.

When he struggled to sit up, she placed her hands on his shoulders and shoved him back down. The two glared at each other.

"Get your hands off of me."

"Now is not the time to get up."

They both growled at each other at the same time. Someone was going to hit the other until Jake's voice broke through their silence. "Rebecca, I found someone that can help."

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And that's that! Reviews are much beloved; I love hearing what you all think about the story. So let me know! Tell me songs I could listen to for inspiration, what you think should happen next, anything! Good, bad, ugly. I'm game. Thanks for reading ya'll! See ya in another five days or so.

-Emm


	4. Chapter 4

So here's the next chapter, we get to see a little more of Tsu'tey and Rebecca which I know a lot of you were interested in seeing. Not much actual talking next, that's the next chapter. I'm also going to be editing the first two chapters just a bit. There will be **no** major changes, so if you've read them and don't feel like reading it all over again, don't. I'd just like to go back over them and polish them up a bit. I didn't think so many people would be interested in this story, and was really just putting this on FF just for fun. But now that people are showing interest, I'd like the chapters to be a little more refined.

Disclaimer- Obviously own nothing except for Becca.

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**Possibility  
**_There's a possibility  
All that I had was all I'm goin' get_

Jake pulled Rebecca out of the avatar compound. She was reluctant to leave, craning her neck to see what the other "healer" was doing. She didn't trust the other woman. The woman was obviously "unprofessional". As soon as she had entered, she started chanting and waving her arms around Tsu'tey. Rebecca had never believed in voodoo and now worried that it would do more harm than good. She nearly exploded, but the look in Jake's eyes told her to not even try to argue.

Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the dark building. "You don't understand what she's going to do, Rebecca. She's the best healer in the village and connected directly to Eywa."

She pursed her lips. "I just want to make sure he stabilizes Jake, and then I'll feel comfortable to leave."

His hand left her arm when she batted at it. "This is a private thing that Mo'at is going to do. You're a newcomer and a human. You have to understand, most of the Na'vi still don't trust you. Being Selfridge's sister isn't going to make friends for you, and they don't want you to see all of our inner workings."

Rebecca would never admit it, but she was insulted. After she had spent hours working side by side with their healers, they still didn't trust her. She understood their reasoning, but it still made her chest clench and her face freeze. With a nod, she gritted her teeth before answering him. "No I understand. I'm tired anyways; it's been a long day." Her fingers worked under the elastic in her hair, and she let the heavy mass fall onto her shoulders.

She nodded to Jake and started walking back to the main building. Long tapered fingers gently massaged her skull, pain blossoming not soon after her hair fell down. She had kept her hair up too long, and when that happened the weight of her hair would cause her scalp to feel as though spikes were being driven through it.

The main building was quiet. Everyone was apparently already in their beds. The day had been a long one for everyone, especially for the people that had any medical background. Rebecca walked through the building in a haze. They had agreed that she would stay in Parker's room, and she was glad for it. At least she could feel comfortable somewhere that her brother had been in and she needed that reassurance right now.

She walked through the common room. There were a few avatar drivers still up, two men battling each other out on some kind of video game. The blue light reflected off of her face as she walked by, her gait slow and precise. Sounds of crashing and gunfire blasted out of the TV stereos, and the reflection of a building falling to pieces could be seen on Rebecca's face.

The cafeteria was empty, the white tables clean and ready for the rush in the morning. Grey light tinged the room with an almost medical look. Rebecca's hands were in her pockets, her spine curved. Her footsteps echoed in the empty room, light clicks that fainted resembled that of a clock. Her shadow stretched across the floor and reached in jagged edges towards the corner of the room.

The cafeteria door closed behind her with a slight suctioning noise, and she slowly made her way past the science rooms. Max was still up, his face illuminated by the computer screen. She stood outside the large glass window, looking at him for a moment. He looked exhausted and his glasses were sliding down his nose. As she watched, his head leaned forward for a moment, wavering in and out of consciousness.

Moving on, she put in the code to enter Parker's room. She had written it on the inside of her wrist so the ink wouldn't wash off. The numbers blurred as her tired eyes looked at them. Her hands were both dry and cracking. She gently set her coat down on the chair next to the door, and stood staring around the room. Darkness crept in from the edges; no light was let in from the windows.

The room was empty of all personal touches. It was like Parker had never lived there. The thought helped Rebecca pull herself together a bit, and she walked into the kitchen to slowly pour herself a glass of water. The grey light of the room was enough to see by, but it was a lonely image. A tall woman silhouetted by darkness, drinking water in a lifeless, colorless room.

Making her way towards Parker's bedroom, she couldn't bear to think of it as hers. Rebecca slowly stripped. Each piece of clothing hit the floor with a muffed thump. She forwent the shower, instead slipping into the cold sheets. As her head hit the pillow, she took a deep breath and sighed. With that breath came the slightly vanilla scent that her brother always used for a shampoo.

Curling onto her side, she tucked her knees into her chest. With a soft sob, she shuddered in the cool sheets. Another sob escaped her mouth, and she slowly dragged the other pillow closer to her chest. Tears streamed down her face as she silently cried. The second pillow was hugged to her chest, and she continually took shaky breathes. Each breath allowed her to smell her brother again, the brother she had not seen for six years, and would not see for another ten at least. Shaking most of the night, Rebecca fell into an exhausted sleep at four o'clock in the morning.

* * *

"Rebecca?"

Snapping straight up in the bed, Rebecca smoothed her hands down her hair. It felt like she had just fallen asleep! What time was it? Rolling onto her stomach, she leaned over towards the bedside table and stared at the clock. Five. Really?

"Rebecca!"

Groaning, she rolled towards the other side of the bed. There was an intercom on that side that Max had shown her the day before. Pressing the button on the right, she asked, "Yes?" Her voice was gritty and hoarse.

"We need you to get down here now."

She moaned and stuck her face into the pillow. "Come on!" Pressing the button again, she muttered, "This really isn't a good time. You can wait another two hours." She then lay back down on her stomach and relaxed.

"Rebecca!" Norm's voice echoed from the intercom.

"What?" She snapped. Realizing that she had yet to push the button on the intercom, she angrily sat up and pushed the button with all the force she could muster. It might not have been the most mature thing to do, but it made her feel better. "What do you want, Norm?"

There was a slight pause before he answered her. "They need you back at the avatar compound. Apparently Tsu'tey is having some trouble and Jake said to send you specifically."

She shook her head. No, no way. She had been kicked out of that room, and she wasn't going back just because now they needed her. She was certain that they could do fine without her. After all, they didn't need her last night when there had been special tribal things going on. "No Norm, I'm sure they're fine. I'm going back to sleep now."

"Rebecca, do you really have to be so selfish? Jake sent for you, that means that he thinks you are the only way that Tsu'tey can make it. He would never have sent for you if he didn't need to."

He sounded pissed off that she wasn't interested in helping, but Rebecca could recognize that he had a point. And besides, it wasn't like she was going to go back to sleep now that she knew one of her patients was in trouble. She snorted. Give her three minutes and she would have been snoring like she had been minutes ago. But she rolled out of bed anyways. Casting one longing glance back at her bed, she pushed the intercom button again. "Fine. I'm coming, just give me a minute." She dug through her suitcase and pulled out her pajama bottoms, a tank top, and a robe.

Walking down to the avatar compound felt like she was walking through molasses. Every step was like she was pulling her feet out of goo and she was certain that things were moving faster than they should be. Shaking her head, Rebecca walked through the crowds of people in the cafeteria and tried to ignore the roll her stomach gave when she smelt the food.

Eventually she got to the avatar compound, rubbing her eyes and she pulled her robe closer to her to conserve heat. The morning was chilly, and Rebecca regretted not throwing on actual clothing before she left.

"Rebecca, thank god."

Jake's panicked voice certainly woke her up a little bit, and she blinked up at him owlishly. He had stuck his head out of the door, and was staring at her like she was sent from Heaven itself.

"Yeah…" She answered slowly.

His large hand dragged her into the room, her slippered feet padding across the room with soft slaps. But as soon as she saw Tsu'tey, she realized what the problem was. Delirium. Pursing her lips, she walked towards the bed.

Tsu'tey was writhing on the bed, his back arching and body bucking at odd intervals. Neytiri was there, as well as the old healer Jake had called Mo'at. There was also two other Na'vi who she had seen guarding the compound at intervals. The two guards and Neytiri were holding Tsu'tey down as he thrashed on the bed.

Walking over to them tiredly, she looked down at the huge Na'vi on the bed. "You're going to have to tie him down. He's delirious. It happens when you get feverish." She gently set the back of her hand against his forehead. "Yeah. Do you have anything that would bring his temperature down?"

She caught Mo'at staring at her, and Rebecca frowned at the woman. Why in the world would the old woman be staring at her like that? It didn't take genius to figure all that out. Honestly, he was trying to get off of the bed, he couldn't, therefore he had to be tied down. It was logic, not brain smarts. And the fever had to be taken down or he would die from it, it was a normal body response. It wasn't like it was something new.

Then she looked down at her hand on the Na'vi's forehead. It seemed he had calmed almost immediately when she placed her warm palm on his head. Scowling down at Tsu'tey, she snatched her hand away from him and wiped it against her thigh. She was not going to go down that path; it was a coincidence that was all.

"So, Jake. All you have to do is get some rope and you'll be all set."

The old woman spoke. "We do not have to resort to tying him down."

"You're going to have to or he's going to hurt himself. He cannot rise from where he is or he's going to tear the stitches. That could lead to him injuring himself more or even dying." Rebecca answered calmly. "There isn't a choice about this."

"We will not tie him."

Rebecca flung her hands up and looked at Jake. Surely he would be the one that would see reason in this ridiculous situation.

He shrugged. "I go with what Mo'at says. She knows what she's talking about. If she doesn't want to tie him up, then I'm sure she's got another plan."

Mo'at was nodding behind him. The sun was just starting to rise, and the pale pinks bathed the aged Na'vi in rose hues. "You will stay with him. He is calmer when you are here."

Looking towards Tsu'tey, Rebecca shook her head. Sure it seemed like he was a little calmer now that she was there, but that was coincidence. It had to do with the fact that there was more light in the building. People who were delirious were better in well lighted areas because there was less to startle them, that was it. "That won't work! I'm supposed to be in my bed sleeping, and then I'm supposed to help people in the courtyards. Sorry Jake, my schedule has already been filled."

"Don't worry Becca," Jake replied. He grinned when she glared at his use of a nickname. "You aren't needed much today. There are few people who need attending today. I'm sure the rest of the healers can deal with it. You should be happy! You get relax in here."

"And do nothing," she grumbled. Jerk, he was going to make her stay in here with a guy in a coma and spend the day all by herself. The boredom was already getting to her, and Rebecca could barely stand to think of spending an entire day without anything to do. "I haven't eaten yet. So I'd have to go and do that. I'd like to take a shower and get better clothing on as well."

"Nah, you're fine." Jake grinned at her discomfort, obviously having fun putting her in a situation she wasn't comfortable in. "I'll send someone to bring you food." He slung an arm around Neytiri. "We'll bring you a cot later tonight, and I'll see what Max has for you to do. Maybe he'll lend you some of his books. If you need anything, there will be a guard at the door."

And then everyone vacated the room before Rebecca could protest. Just before Mo'at left, she spooned some orange goo into Tsu'tey's mouth and told her it was for the fever. Rebecca was to feed it to him at the end of the day just before it got dark. Mouth hanging open, she sputtered at the empty room. "Really? Honestly? They just left me with nothing to do with a comatose patient that can't even speak?" She stared down at her body. "In my nightgown and robe?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly."

A long fingered blue hand gripped her arm with iron strength. Gasping, she spun and stared toward Tsu'tey.

"Water."

She nodded, but when she tried to move his fingers didn't let go of her arm. She gently tried to pry the fingers off of her arm, but his grip tightened. The pain made her start to shake, and she was certain that there would be bruised imprints of his fingers on her pale skin. "Tsu'tey, you have to let go of my arm."

Her use of English sparked something in the recesses of his mind, because he suddenly yanked her forward until she stumbled into the edge of the bed. His eyes were unseeing, but his voice was strong. "Skywalker scum." His gravelly voice gritted against her ears, and it was obvious that he actually did need to drink something. "I will fight you to the end!" His voice shook with anger. "The Na'vi will crush your kind!"

He then flung her away from him as if she was some kind of ragdoll. She fell onto her knees with a loud bang, and growled as she stood slowly. Her knees throbbed, and she could see red welts rising. It had been a long time since Rebecca had been thrown onto her knees by someone, and she didn't like the feeling.

When Tsu'tey tried to rise from the bed, she placed her palm on his shoulder and pushed him back down on the bed. Now she realized why the Na'vi trusted her alone with him. He didn't have enough strength in him to push back at her. Rebecca was certain that she could hold him down herself if she had to. Switching to Na'vi, she told him roughly, "Lie down. You're going to hurt yourself."

She was startled when he complied without question. Eyeing him, she grabbed the bowl of water that was sitting next to him. She put her arm underneath his neck, wincing when he groaned. She must have touched his hair, or whatever that thing was. His hands rested over hers as he drank from the bowl. Rebecca was seconds from telling him to slow down before he choked.

Again, she winced when she set the bowl down. Coughing obviously caused him pain like no other. Every cough made him curl into himself a little more, his body bowing in an effort to ease the pain the bullet wounds were causing him. She gently rolled him onto his back as the coughing abated, and lifted the gauze around the wounds.

Someone had packed some kind of light green moss around the wounds, and she was surprised to see the wounds were only lightly oozing. Maybe these humanoids healed quicker then she expected, or that moss really did some good for the healing processes.

His hand grabbed her arm again. Unseeing eyes listlessly searched the room, before he told her quietly, "Kill me, skywalker. Now is your chance! If I was not harmed you would be dead where you stand."

She placed her hand over his and pried it off of her arm. It didn't look like he was speaking to her, but she replied. "Sorry, no can do. You'll be fine soon enough warrior, then you can get revenge on the skywalker who did this to you." Rebecca had never been good at speaking formally in Na'vi, but that seemed to do the trick.

For the next ten minutes she wiped his entire body down with a washcloth. Halfway through he had started sweating profusely, and his body had started to shake again. But it wasn't the arching and writhing as he had been before she had came into the room. He would shudder and shiver as though cold beyond imagining. Rebecca assumed his fever was breaking.

Again, he grabbed onto her arm. "Please, kill me."

She sighed, realizing that this could develop into something that could progress. "No, warrior. Lie still, heal."

His body thumped back onto the bed, sweat slowly dripping down his temple. Rebecca leaned forward carefully, and gently dabbed at drop. His eyes continued to flick around the corners of the room as though expecting an enemy to jump out at him any minute. She sighed, and crumpled the cloth in her hand. It was going to be a long day if he remained in this state. She hooked a hand around a stool behind her, and sank onto it. Chin resting against her fist, she looked over the warrior before her.

He really was handsome for an alien. His broad features and the harsh angles of his face would have been considered gorgeous on a human. Trailing her eyes down his body, she was amazed again at how large the Na'vi were. He was so tall, so big. Rebecca wasn't used to seeing many people that were larger then her. He moaned again, and she leaned forward to wet his heated skin.

"No!" She jumped as he arched. Putting her hands on his shoulders again, she forcefully kept his back against the bed. He bucked and arched, desperately trying to get her off of him. "Please, no."

Tears stung her eyes again, as she realized that he must be reliving his attack. After he lay quiet underneath her, she slowly moved off of him. Washcloth in hand, she ran it over his heated skin and wished for a clock. Pity made her chest clench, and she rubbed at it when she sank down onto the stool again. She didn't know what kind of pain he was in, but the delirium was an indicator that it was horrible.

His head started to shake back and forth against the pillow. Tears built in his eyes, causing hers to well in her eyes as well. She watched the muscles on his jaw work as he gritted his teeth against the pain. Her hands fisted against her thighs, but there was nothing that she could do to help him.

For the next six hours, every ten minutes he would ask her to kill him. After the second hour, he had started to beg. Rebecca's heart would break every time he begged her to end his life. He had been close to tears the last few times he begged her, and she could barely stand the heartbreak it was causing her. The warrior before her was breaking, and that was enough to make her want to tear her own hair out.

"Please." His newest plan was apparently to repeat the word over and over again. His head shook back and forth on the bed. Sometimes he would hit a spot that obviously caused him pain, and his back would lift off of the bed for a moment before dropping back down.

Tears in her eyes, Rebecca gently ran her hand over his forehead. "Shh, warrior. No more begging, no more." One tear spilled over, and she wiped furiously at it. She should be able to hold herself together, she was a nurse damn it! But the sight of this huge man before her in so much pain, begging for death, it was enough to undo every thread of sanity in her.

His body tensed for a moment, before he finally relaxed. Shocked, she stared down at his face. As soon as her hand had touched his body, he had finally done what she had been trying to get him to do for the past six hours.

Rebecca was exhausted, the emotional stress as well as getting one hour of sleep the past night was enough to make her shake. Finally her patient was sleeping, and she continued to stroke his forehead as he drifted into a deeper sleep. His even breaths lulled her into relaxation as well, and she rested her head against her arm on the bed.

The guard came in once to check on them, the silence alerting him. But when he stepped into the room, he stopped. The nurse was sitting on a chair next to Tsu'tey's bed, her head against her arm. The other hand was still gently on Tsu'tey's forehead, the heat of his body finally to a temperature that was normal. The guard wanted very much to peel her off of his leader, but the relaxation on both nurse and patient's faces made him pause. Perhaps sleep would be good for the both of them. Silently closing the door behind him, he resumed his post. He would stop anyone from waking the two.

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Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews! I really do appreciate them quite a bit, and I'm excited to hear what you all want to see next! 'Til next time.

-Emm


	5. Chapter 5

And here's the latest chapter! Songs for this one, at the beginning it's Rihanna- Russian Roulette. At the end X ray Dogs- breathing space repeated over and over. lol.

Enjoy!

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_Laughter flooded his mind. The pale, pasty face of one of the skywalkers appeared above his head. Tsu'tey gritted his teeth, and prepared to kill the man leaning over him. But he was frozen, his arms couldn't move, his legs were stuck in place. His eyes widened in horror as he stared in shock at the man above him._

_The human bared his teeth in a parody of a grin. "You're going to die freak."_

_Tsu'tey would have been fine with that. It was an honorable way to die. But the man leaned over him and grabbed him by the hair, motioning to a few of his friends so that they could all tug Tsu'tey out of the brush and into a clear area of the forest. Time slowed, and Tsu'tey's head spun as everything suddenly seemed to move in slow motion._

_The faces of the humans spun around him, meshed into one pale pink blur. His eyes focused on a knife, and he desperately tried to struggle as it bore down on him. He refused to die without a fight. But his limbs wouldn't take his direction, and they laid on the ground making a mockery of his attempts to fight. His teeth bared in a hiss, and he growled at the men. They laughed, and continued to dance around him._

_"Come on, you really think you could beat us?" One poked at his ribs, and Tsu'tey sucked in a breath as pain turned his vision white._

_"You're like a baby, freak! Lying there not even fighting us like you're afraid? You afraid baby?" They prodded at his side again, laughing when his muscles reflexively curved around the wound._

_"Aw, look at him! Like some kind of tamed animal in the zoo." A face swam in front of his vision. His own panting breaths swamped his ears with sound, and he couldn't follow what the skywalker said._

_And then he was lifted up, held between two of the soldiers as if a sacrifice. His legs refused to hold him, and his arms hung limply at his sides. He couldn't even lift his head, not for lack of trying. Tsu'tey was forced to hang between the two men and stare up through his loosened hair at the man dancing in front of him with a knife._

_"Let's see if I can put a better look on that ugly ass face of yours."_

_Then he felt a light brush against the base of his spine, and arched when the fingers tangled in his queue. "Hey! Check this out!"_

_He knew that they were staring at the tiny pink feelers that were interwoven in his hair, attached at the base of his skull. Then a hand grabbed and pulled on them, and Tsu'tey could do nothing but scream._

_Dirt bit into his knees, and as he knelt on the ground his head spun with pain. Shaking his head, he tried to stand. Two pairs of hands clamped down on his shoulders, another pair of hands yanking his arms behind his back. The man with the knife was before him again, crouching. Tsu'tey growled when he watched the man pull his queue from behind his back._

_"This important freak?"_

_Tsu'tey snapped at him, his teeth coming dangerously close to the man's neck. Instead of fear, the man laughed. "I guess so." He nodded, stroking the knife down his neck. "Hold him boys, let's see if these animals last without their hair."_

_Time slowed even more, and Tsu'tey watched as the man's hand came closer and closer to the base of his skull. It felt as though hours past, tension radiating through his body as the knife came closer and closer to his queue. He didn't know what would happen if they were cut off, no one had ever had that happen to them before. And then the cool metal of the knife touched the back of his neck and sliced._

_Pain blinded him as he fell forward into the dirt._

Rebecca gasped as Tsu'tey bolted upright. A wild look graced his face, and he was staring in front of him with his hands raised in front of him. Rubbing a hand against her forehead, she reached forward and placed a hand against his shoulder. "Back down warrior, you're going to pull your stitches out."

When he turned towards her, Rebecca didn't see any of the mist that had usually covered his eyes. He was finally lucid, and he didn't look too happy to see her. His hands slowly lowered, his eyes shooting flames. Rebecca then realized how close she was to him. Barely two inches separated the two, and she could feel his angered breaths fanning over her face.

Just before she was going to lean back, his hands closed over her arms. "Your kind needs to be wiped from his Earth!" The words were spat at her like a curse word.

He shook her, his hands like bands of steel around her biceps. Her neck snapped forward, and she struggled to get away from him. Before she could work a hand between the two of them, he tossed her across the room again. Rebecca braced herself for the hit, whimpering when her shoulder slammed against the wood. Scrambling to her feet, she whipped around.

Tsu'tey was trying to stand, obviously surprised that he couldn't stand as easily as he had expected. She growled. "Listen, I don't know what you remember, but you've been hurt. Bad."

He ignored her.

"I'm serious! You can't just get up and walk without help, Tsu'tey!"

He turned towards her and bared his teeth in a hiss. "You have no right to call me by that name."

Raising one arm in front of her, the other was still stinging from the impact with the floor, she said quietly, "Take a deep breath. Look around you. You're safe, there's a guard outside the door. Your people have been helping you ever since you were wounded."

He hissed at her again, finally finding his balance. He backed away from her slowly then, one hand rested against one of the stitches on his abdomen. The tail attached to his spine was waving wildly, and she winced when it knocked bottles off of one of the stands next to him. His stumbling steps took him farther away from her. Rebecca started to get nervous.

Hand still raised, she walked towards him slowly. "Listen to me. You have to calm down. I'm not saying this to try and trick you. You're going to hurt yourself again." She pointed to his side where blood was starting to trickle down the ridges of his ribs. "Sit down, I'll look at your wounds."

Again, his teeth were bared at her. She watched as the whites of his started to show. His eyes roamed the room, obviously looking for the best escape route. Sighing, she pursed her lips and decided that it was going to take a little more force than just speaking. Rebecca had never been the type of person that was willing to manhandle someone, but she would have to make an exception. He wasn't going to be easy to manhandle, that was for sure. But he was still weak. She was surprised that he could even walk in the condition that he was in.

Darting towards him, she grabbed onto one of his arms and yanked him off balance. With a strength she didn't realize she had, she hooked her arms underneath his, his back to her chest, and steadfastly pulled him back towards the bed. The struggle that ensued would have made anyone laugh.

The large Na'vi couldn't get his feet under him. His muscles were weak from lack of use, but he could still fight her. Rebecca got an elbow to the chin, as well as a gouge on her forearm that stung like a horde of bees had landed on her. With a grunt, she shoved him onto the bed with what little strength she had left.

He then managed to clip her on the left side of her jaw. His face sneered in obvious pleasure when she reared back with a hand pressed against the side of her face. As he tried to slide off of the other side of the bed, she growled at him, "Oh no you don't!"

Both hands on his uninjured thigh, she yanked him back towards her. He growled at her. She growled back at him. "Filthy human!" He sneered at her, his voice like a whip against her flesh.

"Ungrateful alien!"

His hands reached for her again, obviously trying to cause her more pain. She moved out of his reach, slapping at his hands. "Do you know how long I've been in here looking after you?" When he moved to get off the bed again, she pressed her palm firmly against his shoulder and shoved him back down onto the bed.

His teeth came dangerously close to snapping around her wrist, and she flinched backward with a glare. "Grow up!"

"Get away from me, human!"

"I would if I could!" She snapped back. "But I'm stuck here, and you're going to have to deal with me!"

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her disdainfully. "Get another healer."

She snorted. Dragging the stool over to her again, she sat down onto it with a thump. If the alien had eyebrows they would have been raised, instead the skin above his eyes raised. "Did I not just tell you to get me another healer?"

She grabbed a book off of floor next to her. They had brought the books some time ago, she'd been asleep when they had first come in. When she had woken up for the first time she had noticed them, but had been too tired to thumb through them. Now she delicately opened the book and sniffed.

"Human, are you as stupid as you look?"

She looked over the edge of the book cover. "Hmm? No, I'm ignoring you."

He growled at her. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he snapped, "Get me another healer, now! I will not have one of the sky people in the same room as me."

She turned a page, the soft sound should have been soothing. Instead it enraged him all the more. "Sorry, Tsu'tey. No can do, I've been sequestered here. Everyone else is on a hunting party, which means you and I are stuck together." When she looked up again, he was struggling into a sitting position. "What did I tell you about that?"

The book was closed with a snap, and she stood up again. When he hissed at her, she wrinkled her nose in displeasure. The man really was an animal when he was awake. And to think that she had just been daydreaming about him! What a fool she was. Did she really think that he would be some kind of honorable savage? He was obviously the worst sort of person to be in company with.

As she reached to push him back down, he snapped at her. This time, one of his canine teeth connected with the delicate skin on the top of her hand. Gasping, she pulled back. "You bit me!"

A feral smile crossed his face. "I'd do it again. You're only scum worth less than even the dirt on this planet."

"That is it!" She tried to shove him back down, but he resisted her. With a shriek of anger, she jumped onto the bed and straddled his body. Shoving him down into a lying down position, she planted her hands firmly against the bed. Hands just above his shoulders, she put her finger in his face. "You listen here. I've been taking care of you for at least eight hours now. I'm exhausted, I don't want to be here, and the last thing I need is for some idiotic alien telling me how much I'm worth."

He grabbed her legs and tried to pick her up off of him. "Get off of me before I tear your head from your neck!"

A shout of laughter escaped her mouth. "You? You can't even pick me up off of you, let alone tear my head off!"

Tsu'tey was angered to realize that it was true. No matter how hard he tried to lift her, he couldn't manage to budge her. It was shameful. His biceps shook as he exerted too much effort in trying to shove her off of him. He stilled when his efforts lifted her nightgown and his fingers touched warm skin. He couldn't describe the emotion that sizzled through his veins. Warmth, calmness, a quiet peace. The only words that he could use didn't seem to describe the way his blood both boiled and eased with the first brush of skin.

His teeth bared again as he became angered first with her and then with himself. He was a warrior, not some kind of lovesick pup! But all the same, the warmth radiated through his body, and he felt his fingers spread against her thigh. Slowly, his lips covered his bared fangs, and he stared up at the human.

Rebecca was startled as he suddenly stilled. The beast was suddenly tamed, and she was shocked when she felt his fingers spread against her thigh. It was an entirely different feeling with only four fingers instead of five touching her. Her breathing slowed, the moment suddenly stilling all time around them. Her brows furrowed as she met his gaze, trying to understand what happened that would make him suddenly still.

Flicking from left to right, his eyes searched hers for something she couldn't name. Rebecca was again struck by a strange fascination with the male. He wasn't handsome by any of her standards. The blue skin knocked that right out of the ballpark. But his cheekbones created harsh slashes across his face that made her heart flutter, and the patterns of blue across his face made her fingers itch to trace them.

What happened to him? Tsu'tey figured he must have hit his head harder then he thought. The human above him seemed to have gained a certain shadow of beauty that made him look twice at her. He had never thought humans attractive, especially with their pale pink skin that reminded him more of dead fish then anything. But this human's skin was attractive, a rosy hue staining her cheeks. There were a few dots of brown across her nose and forehead, like the white dots on his.

A breath puffed out of her mouth, brushing across his face like a caress. Her breath smelled like one of the flowers on the planet, a clean smell. One of his own breaths escaped his mouth. His hand moved again, fingers curling towards his palm and then out again. He watched in fascination as the rosy color on her cheeks darkened. He must be going mad. This female was nothing to him. She was just a human that wanted to wipe out his world and his people. But as long as his skin was in contact with hers, he couldn't think of anything other than her.

Rebecca stared in shock at the alien. How had they moved so quickly from irate to simply staring at each other in shock? What was it about her skin that made him calm down so quickly? He had been tense just a moment ago, ready to tear her head from her neck. And now he lay pliant beneath her, his fingers softly stroking her legs. She had a stray thought that she was severely glad she had found time to shave, and then was lost in his eyes again. Deep golden, they were like nothing she had ever seen before. She leaned forward slightly, knowing that even in a few seconds she would be wondering why she did so.

"Hey Bexie! I found something you might like!"

Gasping, Rebecca slid off of Tsu'tey and fell onto the stool like she had been shot. Her spine straightened, and she stared at the door as Jake walked through it. He was carrying a flower in his hand, holding it precariously like he was holding something inside it. He paused, staring at the two of them with a questioning look on his face.

It was an incriminating scene. Both parties were out of breath, staring at him as though he had caught them in the middle of something. He almost laughed at himself. Tsu'tey? Rebecca? No, the two were much more liable to kill each other rather than do what he was thinking. He shook his head and slowly walked into the room, continuing to stare at the two of them. Rebecca was beat red, a color that he would admit looked great on her. Tsu'tey's eyes were wide, staring at the ceiling as though something was avidly important about it.

Looking up towards the ceiling, Jake furrowed his eyebrows. Glancing at Rebecca, he said casually, "So what have you two been up to?"

Rebecca's head snapped up in surprise and she looked at him with her mouth slightly open.

Eyebrows raised even higher, Jake pointed to her arm. "You're bleeding. Is that a bruise on your jaw?" He tipped her head to the side, staring in shock at the bruise that was rapidly forming. "What did you do, get in a fight?"

Rebecca shook her head, pushing his hand away gently. "Of course not! I fell." She stuttered when he gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. "I'm clumsy. Being tall doesn't make me graceful. Long legs, you know?"

It was a poor excuse, but one that Jake seemed fine with taking. He shrugged and handed her the plant. "It's got some kind of sap in it. Neytiri said that you could use it on Tsu'tey's wounds and it would stop any bleeding that got around the stitches."

Rebecca smiled and looked into the swirling yellow liquid. It certainly looked sticky enough. She balanced it in her hands, the soft smile prevalent. It was a beautiful flower, almost as large as her head and a beautiful light blue color. She was also touched that Neytiri would help her, especially since she hadn't been the kindest to any of the Na'vi. Rebecca didn't have any qualms about complaining, even though she knew that it was not an endearing value.

"How are you, my brother?"

She stood, backing away from the two men. There was a bowl on a table a few feet away, and she delicately poured the contents of the petals into it. The two men spoke quietly, but she could understand that Tsu'tey was worried about his people. Jake would take care of them just fine, she could tell just by the way that he interacted with them. A smile was always on his face, even when faced with situations that she would have been running from.

Tsu'tey moved to sit up, and she frowned as Jake allowed him to do so. Those stitches were going to come out, and then she would have to go through the trouble of getting out the needle and thread. But she smiled when Jake put a friendly hand on the other man's shoulder, seemingly in a gesture of brotherhood, but there was pressure behind the fingers. He was helping Tsu'tey remain upright, and allowing him to do so in an honorable fashion. Suddenly feeling as though she was intruding, she walked by the bed and murmured, "I'm going to go. You can stay here can't you Jake?"

He nodded and waved her away, and as Rebecca moved towards the door, she heard Tsu'tey intake a large amount of air. He winced when his broken voice asked Jake desperately, "Where is my queue?" There was silence, Jake was trying to find something to say to his fallen brother. Tsu'tey repeated louder, pain and suffering echoing in his voice, "Where is my queue Jake Sully?"

She gratefully walked out of the avatar compound. She desperately needed human company. The shivery feeling was still tracing its path inside her chest. It hadn't left her since Tsu'tey had touched her. Rubbing at her chest, she followed the path to the main building, still lost in her own thoughts. She didn't understand what was happening between her and Tsu'tey. Why did her touch calm him? And why did his touch make her feel as though silver ran through her veins instead of blood? And why did she still want to cry when she thought of him suffering from the lack of that long braid?

Hugging her robe to her chest, she picked up her pace. Maybe a good talk with some humans would help her feel normal again. Maybe that would calm her nerves, and get her mind off of the golden eyed alien she was determined to heal.

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I feel like this was shorter then I usually write. I know it's not, but it feels like it. Anyways, thank you all SO much for the lovely reviews and support, it means so much to me!

-Emm


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been such a long time. I've been having some health issues that have keeping me from the computer. But I'm back, and I'll be updating every week again as much as possible. And for a little bribe (because I want you to keep reading this story) there will be a Valentine's Day special. ;)

Also, I realize that people were confused by the lack of exopack on her. Well, there actually is an exopack on Rebecca at all times when she's outsdie. I apologise for not making that clear. She is not breathing Pandoran air, she's got an exopack on her. I thought I mentioned that in the... fourth (?) chapter, but I may not have. So I apologise for not making that clear enough! And also, in advance, sorry that there's no Tsu'tey in this chapter.

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**At night they would go walking  
Til the breaking of the day  
Save the night time for your weeping.  
**Coldplay- Cemetaries of London

"Hey gorgeous!" This was the first thing that Rebecca heard when she walked into the compound. Arching her eyebrow at the marine, she shook her head at him. What in the world? Staring around her in shock, she was surprised to find that somehow while she had been gone the entire compound had been decorated. Someone had obviously been feeling romantic, because the entire compound was now pink.

Lifting a hand to her mouth, she padded into the main hall and stared around her. It was as if an explosion of pink coloring had gone off. The walls were covered with pink cut out hearts, confetti covered the floor and tables, hearts were even hanging from the ceiling! Her eyebrows furrowed, and she desperately tried to remember the date. What was it? It felt as though she had been here for such a long time, that she couldn't even remember the date! Brushing the confetti off a seat, she slowly sat down into it.

Could it possibly be Valentine's Day already? How in the world had she forgotten that date? She loved Valentine's Day! Setting her exomask on the table in front of her, she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. It had been a long day to begin with. And now that Valentine's Day was tomorrow, she could barely even believe what was going on. A grin crossed her face, and she blew out a breath. It wasn't like her to forget the date, it seemed that this place was changing her more then she had already realized.

"Rebecca?"

Looking up, she smiled tightly. "Hi Max."

He sat down next to her, grimly looking at all the confetti that was spread around them. He put an arm against the table and cleared it of the tiny paper hearts. "Some of the women got a little carried away I'm sure you can tell. I think they're missing home." He grinned wryly. "Earth home I mean. This is our home now, but it will never be like Earth."

Leaning back into the softness of the sofa, she flung an arm over her face. "Oh believe me, if anyone is getting home sick it would be me." And she was, she realized. Rebecca had never been one to move far away from home, even when she went to college she stayed in the same state. If the saying "home is where the heart is" applied to anyone, it had somehow skipped over her. Home was where her parents, brother, and friends were. And now she was as far away from there as she could possibly get.

"I think you'd be surprised." Max gently pulled her arm from her face, and directed her attention towards one of the marines who was sullenly sitting in a corner. "Jared over there is missing his wife and kids. He gave up his life on Earth because he believed that someday they could be sent here. He just got the news that they probably will never be able to come here." He pointed to a woman who was laughingly hanging streamers with another young man. "Christina just missed her mother's death last week." He patted her shoulder again. "You aren't the only one missing home."

Leaning forward again, Rebecca ran her fingers through her hair. She had been being selfish, she knew that. But somehow she wanted it to just be her that was missing home. She wanted it to just be her that was stuck here when she didn't want to be! It was a childish wish, something that made even her want to tell herself to grow up. She was being foolish. It was time to wake up and smell the roses. She was stuck here, and if she was going to stay sane she had to come to terms with that fact. "So I'm guessing Valentine's Day is soon" She asked Max to change the subject.

He smiled wryly at her, obviously aware of what she was trying to do. "Yes it is. Tomorrow in fact. The women are very excited about it. There's going to be a bit of a get together if you're interested. Some kind of dance, or something along those lines." He rubbed his jaw. "You'd have to ask one of the women to figure it out exactly. I'm not good with those kinds of things. I belong in a lab."

A burst of laughter escaped her mouth. Hysteria was starting to set in again. Rebecca didn't know how in the world she was going to get rid of her response to anything that anyone said. The only people she was comfortable around was the Na'vi, and that was completely idiotic. If there was anyone that she should feel comfortable around it was humans. They were her own kind, they understood her, hell they should know exactly what she was going through. But she couldn't even start speaking to humans without her body suddenly throwing her into a hysterical state.

"Of course Max, I keep forgetting that you're a scientist. You speak like a normal person, instead of someone that could recite textbooks to me." She stood and shoved her hands into the pockets of her dressing gown. Damn it. She was still in her pajamas! Blushing bright red, she stared at the ground at her feet. "I'm going to go back upstairs. It's late, and I've had a long day."

She didn't wait for his reply. Her skin was already crawling and she was close to breaking down in front of him. As she walked away, Max leaned forward and carefully picked up her exopack. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he stood as well. Her mask still in his grip, he walked towards his lab.

Rebecca walked into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. The noise thrust her out of her hysteria, and she thoughtfully glanced at it before anger suddenly spiked in her chest. With a growl, she ripped her dressing gown off of her and threw it onto the ground. When that did nothing to clear her mind, she knocked a picture off of the wall. A growl escaped her mouth, and she grabbed a vase next to her. Staring at the floral pattern, a sadistic grin crossed her face before she threw it with all her might.

The crash made her feel better. Walking barefoot through the ceramic shards, she took no notice of the blood that was soon coating the floor in footprints. Clearing the coffee table with one swoop, she then overturned it with a heave. Starting to laugh, she moved into the kitchen and pulled all the pots and pans from the cabinets they were in. The loud crashes and bangs echoed in her room, but they cleared her head from the melancholy that she had been stuck in for such a long time.

In her head, there was heavy metal music playing. She grabbed one of the largest pots and hefted it. With another fierce growl, she moved into the bedroom and started smashing everything within reach. Every hit made her feel stronger, braver, better. Her vision narrowed into a tunnel, and everything inside that tunnel was pummeled into pieces. Dropping the pan with a clatter, she pulled all the blankets off of the bed. The pillows were soon in her hands, which had curled into claws. Letting out a shriek, she shredded them.

Feathers exploded around her. But she didn't want white feathers to float around her. They were too happy, too innocent. Screaming, she started pulling the mattress onto the floor. Each yank made her feel better then she had since she had reached this godforsaken planet. She was bent, feet braced against the floor as she put all of her weight into pulling that mattress off of the bed.

"Rebecca!"

The voice snapped her out of her destructive rampage. With a whimper that was beyond pathetic, she fell into a crumpled heap on the floor. The mattress was half off of the bed, feathers were still fluttering around her, and the entire apartment was in shambles. Her feet were bleeding, and now that her adrenaline had fallen she could feel the pain shooting up her legs in icy spikes. Whimpering again, she wilted onto her side and curled into a ball. Her arms were around her stomach, and she was desperately trying to suck in air.

"Rebecca." There was that voice again. Who the hell was that? Who the hell dared enter her room without her permission? But then warm arms were lifting her up and cradling her gently against a wiry chest. Sniffing, she allowed herself to be cradled. How long had it been since she had been taken care of? Far too long for her to be happy. "Rebecca, what are you doing?"

She sniffled again, realizing that tears were streaming down her face. Some of her toes curled slightly, the pain making her shudder even harder. It had been too long since she had been held. She was no small woman, and most people couldn't make her feel fragile any longer. When she was a child she could still be held and feel as though the person could take care of her, but now she always felt like it was her that was supposed to be taking care of them. This person made her feel small again, and it was something she hadn't been expecting. It took her off guard, and made her cry even harder.

When Norm had heard the crashing sounds coming from Rebecca's room, he had been scared out of his mind. All he could think was one of those unpredictable marines had somehow entered her room without her knowing and was now attacking her. And when he had swiped his card against the lock on her door, because he and Max had decided it would be safer for them to have keys to her room as well, he had been shocked. The room was in shambles! His adrenaline had spiked, and worry had made him run through the apartment.

The sounds coming from the bedroom made his blood freeze. Screaming and thumping sounds echoed in his ears and he was certain that he was about to walk into a scene that would scar him forever. But when he had skidded into her room, it hadn't been a rape crime that he had seen. Instead, it had been Rebecca gone crazy. She had been pulling at her mattress like some kind of possessed crazy, her feet bloodied and tears streaming down her face. For one minute, Norm thought of Valhalla and her harpies.

When he called her name, she had crumpled into a heap. For some reason, seeing this strong independent woman on her knees in the middle of such chaos, his heart had clenched. He didn't want her to feel like she was lost. Contrary to what many people believed, Norm was not as aloof has he came off to be. Now that he had Rebecca cradled in his arms, he was shocked to find that he actually respected this woman how had come into his life like some kind of demon.

His cheek pressed against her hair, he tried to still her shudders. He pulled her closer to his chest, as he had used to for any of the children he had babysat years ago. Sighing, he shifted his weight so that he would be more comfortable. It would be a while until she calmed down, but Norm was willing to wait. It was all he could do. Staring at the destruction in the room, and remembering what she had done to the rest of the apartment, he realized that she had had a tough time of it. It wasn't characteristic of a woman like her to break down so easily. Norm realized that perhaps he had pinpointed her personality wrong.

Another violent shudder wracked her body, and he pulled her closer to his chest. The poor woman was obviously having trouble adjusting to living here, and Norm hadn't been making it any easier. With another sigh, he came to terms with the fact that he was going to have to be kinder to her from now on. Maybe he could make her transition a little easier. Perhaps he'd talk to Max and see if they could get something that would calm her down a bit. Maybe she would feel more comfortable if they could put her into a different room, or get her on a schedule that would be sure to make her sleep deeply every night.

Rebecca slowly came to, her sobs slowing into tiny hiccups. Sitting up on her own, she rubbed at her eyes hard. She had to get a hold of herself. She was a strong, independent woman! She could take anything. But she didn't feel like it at the moment. A warm hand was still resting against the middle of her back, and she slowly turned her head to see who her rescuer was.

"Norm?" That was a surprise. Since when did Norm care enough about her to give a crap? They hadn't spoken to one another since the day that she had been discovered in this horrible place. Running a hand underneath her nose, when had that started running? She asked quietly, "What are you doing here?"

He scooted backwards, away from her she noticed. "It wasn't hard to hear the crashing from the hallway." He planned to add more and scold her for her actions, but then stopped when he saw the pained look in her eyes. "Come here, you're bleeding."

Rebecca watched as he kneeled next to her feet, shocked that he was being so kind. Why was he being kind? Was he trying to make a point? Did he need something? There was no possible way that she was going to trust him, honestly did he really expect her to trust him? He hadn't been nice to her at all. Maybe she would have thought about it if he had talked to her at least a little bit, but no. He wouldn't talk to her. he didn't even look at her when they crossed paths in the hallway!

"You've got something in your feet that have to be taken out." She was surprised to see concern in his eyes when he looked up at her. "Come on."

Rebecca had expected him to hold out his hand to her. She'd expected him to make her walk herself to the bathroom and leave her to take the pieces of vase out of her feet herself. But she hadn't expected him to stand, stoop down, and pull her up into his arms. A tiny scream erupted from her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip. Her eyes were squeezed shut in fear. No one had picked her up since she was eight! He was going to drop her and she was going to hurt even more then she did right now!

But he didn't drop her. Instead he walked to the bathroom and set her on the edge of the tub with as much care as possible. He then got the tweezers out of her vanity, and knelt at her feet. She stared at him in shock, her eyes wide. "Why are you doing this?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "I haven't been very kind to you since you were here, but I'd like to make amends for that. This is going to hurt." He poured rubbing alcohol over the wound.

She hissed in a breath, clenching her teeth in pain. When had he gotten that? "Yeah, no kidding!"

"I told you," he chuckled. There was silence in the bathroom while he worked on cleaning out the wounds on her feet. It was a comfortable silence, one that Rebecca honestly hadn't expected. Her head tilted back and thumped against the wall behind her. It had been such a long day, and she had spent all the energy she had by her destruction of the apartment. Oh she was going to have to take care of that at some point, and it wasn't going to be fun cleaning up that mess.

Norm reached around her to turn the faucets of the tub on. Warm water sent steam up into the air, and it wasn't long before the two of them were surrounded by the warm fog. He lifted her feet and gently set them into the tub, wincing when she winced. But the heat eventually got to her, and her body relaxed on the edge of the tub. She stared at the water in longing, wishing she was alone so that she could get into it and perhaps relax a little bit.

She turned to Norm to thank him for his help, and laughed when his looked surprise at the smile on her face. "Thank you for your help. I'm not exactly in the right mind tonight. But I'm grateful for your help."

"It's no problem really." He blushed, a deep red that was obvious on his fair skin. "You gave me quite a scare. You sure you're okay now?"

"I'll be fine. It's just been a very long day."

He nodded and slowly stood. "I'll head out then. I'm, uh, glad you're alright."

As he walked away from her, Rebecca had to call out to him so that he realized she was sincere about her thanks. "Norm! Really, thank you. I needed a little help when you showed up." He nodded and walked through the door, his head popping back in when she called his name again. "Could you close the door?" She asked laughingly.

The blush crept onto his face again, but he shut the door behind him gently. Rebecca let out a whispering sigh, before stripping her pajama shorts and tank top off. It was an endeavor to get the shorts off. Her feet weren't bleeding as heavily, but they still stung horribly. She emptied the water from the tub, watching as the red tinged water swirled in circles down the drain.

But then she filled the tub back up and sank into the water happily. Her muscles finally relaxed as she silently berated herself for her foolish actions. She should be happy where she was! There was no going home for her, not for ten years at least. She had to get used to that fact and start to enjoy living here. Rebecca knew what happened to people that went insane, she'd seen them before. So she knew that it would happen to her if she didn't come to terms with the fact that she was stuck here for a while.

A half an hour went by before the door to the bathroom burst open again. She shrieked and covered her chest with her arms, sinking lower into the bathtub. She heard a curse, and turned wide eyes to see Norm spin on his heel so that his back was to her.

"Sorry! Sorry! I thought… I mean… I didn't…" He stammered, obviously trying to explain but too surprised by seeing her naked to get the words out correctly.

Rebecca burst out laughing. "It's okay Norm! What did you want?" When he started to turn, she laughingly yelled, "No don't turn around!"

"I was just going to tell you that we set another room up for you to stay in!" His voiced was pained, as though he was thoroughly embarrassed. Rebecca couldn't help but grin at the situation. Leave it to him to get in the worst situation possible with a complete stranger. "It's room fourteen on the second level!" He managed to get out before bursting from the room.

Rebecca sank lower into the water and burst out laughing. She hadn't laughed this hard in four years!

* * *

It's a little short, but you'll be getting a second chapter by Sunday! And sorry for the errors. I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible, so I'm sure there are some oddities that you wouldn't normally see. It'll be edited later. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone! Sorry this has taken so long, I've been having health issues that unfortunately have kept me from the computer. I really do apologize though, since I could have written this and managed to get it to you. There's no excuse, I'm just thankful that I have so many dedicated readers. You all mean so much to me! Thank you for sticking with me, and I promise that I'll update more often now.

There's some Tsu'tey in this one, not nearly as much as you all want I'm sure, but enough to keep you happy until the next chapter. No I did not have a beta on this chapter, so unfortunately there is bound to be many grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and moments where you think "Emmaline, what in the world were you thinking?" Sorry darlings, I'm still ill.

* * *

**Hey you!  
you're the kind of guy  
that I could see myself  
Staying with forever**

The next morning, Rebecca wasn't so sure that she could wake up. Everything hit her just as hard as before, though there was a kind of remorse about her. Everything that was going on had finally hit her, and she wasn't so sure how to feel about it. She had already gone through the anger, and now she just felt immensely tired. Her entire body ached. Last night had been the most activity that she had done since she left Earth six years ago.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she rubbed her forehead. There was no question in her mind that as soon as her feet touched the ground pain would flare. With a groan, she gingerly placed her feet on the floor and scowled down at them. It wasn't their fault that they hurt, but she had to blame something other than herself.

Today she would start a routine. She would eat breakfast, she would work out, she would go down to the village to see if they needed help, and then she would return. That was the only thing that she could do. In her mind, if she managed to get herself into a routine then maybe her life would stop spinning out of control. Rebecca dressed and wandered down to the cafeteria to eat, hoping that no one would be there.

Her luck had never been that good though, so she planted herself down next to Max, Norm, and a few of the marines that had stayed. The food was always good here, at least that was something that she could look forward to. Now that the scientists had time to test with the food on Pandora, they had discovered the few plants and animals that humans could actually eat. It was something that they were quite proud of, and certainly saved all of the crews' lives. They had just discovered these new foods, and Rebecca had only eaten them once before.

As she sliced an orange and yellow striped fruit into bite sized pieces, one of the marines at the table leaned towards her. "So I hear you had quite the night."

She paused in her cutting and glanced up at the man, not exactly sure what he was talking about. Then she saw him wiggle his eyebrows towards Norm, and her faced flamed almost as red as her hair. "I very highly doubt that."

Her embarrassment seemed to be contagious. Norm's face was as beat red as her own was, and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Norm," she asked quietly. Leaning forward she grabbed the butter in front of Max and started spreading it on her bread. "How exactly does the jarhead know that I had an… exciting night?"

Norm's silence was more than enough for her to want to hit him. The marine tilted his chair onto the back two legs and glared at her. "Jarhead? That's the best insult you can come up with Carrot top?"

Rebecca's temper flared. Shoving her chair backwards with a screech, she planted her hands onto the table with a loud thump that echoed in the cafeteria. "Listen to me you little bastard, if you think that you can take me on just tell me. I'm certain that I could beat the crap out of you so bad that you'd be crying for your momma before your head hit the floor!"

She was pulled away from the table by Max, who seemed to be the one person that could keep his cool no matter what the situation. "Rebecca, I think perhaps we should have a talk in my lab."

Through her anger, Rebecca could barely hear him. Her ears were still ringing and her mind whirling with different insults that she could have thrown at the marine. She probably couldn't have beat him, he was a marine after all, but she would have liked to just hit someone. Then again, he was a marine. She didn't have much of a chance to hit him.

She was so distracted that Max had to drag her through the hallway. She continued to think of things that made her want to scratch the man's eyes out. It could have been anyone that set her off. Rebecca had always resorted to anger when she was uncomfortable. Usually she didn't resort to violence though. She was too big to do that, and her mother had always boxed her ears when she had said she wanted to hit someone. Even now, she towered over Max. He didn't worry that she would hit him though, probably because he knew her too well.

They reached Max's lab, and he set her down in front of the wall of computers. Sitting before her, he slid one of the moveable tablets onto his lap and started messing with something on it. "Rebecca, something is bothering you."

Well at least he was to the point. Dropping her head into her lap, Rebecca curled into herself. "Yeah, you could say that." Her voice was muffled by her lap, but he could hear her clear enough.

Reaching out, Max rubbed her shoulder once before returning to his work on the tablet. "Are you planning on telling someone or are you just going to bottle it up until you explode?" He looked at her over the tablet. "Like you did today."

Rubbing her mouth, she leaned against the table next to her. "I miss home. I miss my brother. I miss my bed. I don't fit in here at all. I'm not use to anyone. And it's been such a long time since I have made any kind of difference that I feel like I'm going to pop!"

"Well that is certainly enough on your plate." Max smiled kindly at her. "Perhaps if you talked to someone about it, then maybe you would feel a little better? Hmm?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Now you're sounding like an old codger Max, not a man who's only in his thirties."

"You don't know how old I am!" He turned the tablet over onto its face and slid it towards her. "This is our little secret, and you have to promise me not to say anything that could compromise Pandora or its people. You've worked with them, you know how kind they can be. Do not betray them, or me." And then he left.

Her eyebrows furrowed, Rebecca pulled the tablet into her lap and turned it over. She gasped when she saw what it said. "Do you want to contact Parker Selfridge?" She slid her fingers down the side of the tablet, and then pressed the green Send button.

"Hello?"

A tear slid down her cheek, and she rubbed her right eye as the picture of her sleeping brother came up on the screen. "Parker?" Her voice was choked with emotion, but at this point she didn't care. It was her brother before her, and she'd missed him so much.

He sat straight up. Rebecca could only see his outline in the dark, and then he turned on the light and she managed a laugh. His hair was sticking up in every direction, he had bags under his eyes, and he had lost weight. But he was there, and that meant so much. "Becky? Is that you?"

She laughed again, a watery sound but a laugh nonetheless. "Yeah it's me! How are you?"

"Where are you? I've been looking for you ever since we landed last week! Beck, what ship were you on?"

"I know you left me here, goof." She ran a finger under her eyes to catch the tears. Rebecca wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to scream and yell and make him feel guilty. But she couldn't, because she needed to talk with him about everything that was going on. This was his world, not hers. She didn't want to be on another planet, she didn't even like Earth! "I miss you, this place is horrible."

Parker touched the screen. "Hey. I did what I had to. I couldn't risk your life. I'll come back for you Beck, you know that."

"I know." She managed another smile, even though she knew that the chances of him returning were slim. "It's nice to talk to you. There's no one around here that I'm comfortable with."

"Beck." He paused. "I feel awful about leaving you there, and you look just about as bad as I feel." Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry Beck, I never would have left you if I could have done anything to stop it."

"You mean if you could do anything that wouldn't put you in harm's way." She held a hand up to silence him. "I know you Parker, better than most people. I understand how you work, and I know that you would rather let someone else get hurt than yourself. You've been that way since you were a child, and I still love you."

His head fell forward, and Rebecca was reminded of how he used to act when they were little. "You know, I am sorry Beck. I didn't want to leave you."

Feeling her tough façade break, she tightly smiled. "I know Parker. But I'm here, and just because you didn't want to leave me won't change that. There's no way for me to go home, you know. There's nothing I can do here. I'm not a scientist, I don't know how to work machines or fight. This is hell for me."

"It's not as if I wanted to leave you there Beck! How many times do I have to say this to get it through your thick skull!"

She froze at his outburst, her heart clenching painfully in her chest. "Don't you dare take that tone with me Parker Selfridge."

"I'll do as I please! You should be happy to be there! You can start a new life, instead of living the pitiful one that you lived here!"

"Pitiful!"  
"Yes Rebecca, pitiful! You barely even lived when you were here on Earth. Always working, always looking out for me, always trying to make the entire world happy! You can't take the weight of the world on your shoulders Rebecca! I had hoped that giving you a new start on Pandora then maybe you would stop being such a prude with a stick up your ass!"

Both siblings were breathing hard with anger, though it was Rebecca's face that went white after Parker's tirade. Tears glistening in her eyes, she asked quietly, "Do you really think that?"

His voice dark with anger, he sneered at her. "Rebecca, it's time to wake up and smell the roses. You're on that planet for who knows how long. I can't get anyone to even think about returning there after the money that was lost. You… are… stuck. If I could help you I would, but I can't. You're better off there anyways. Maybe you could start a new life and not have to worry about me." His voice gentled by the end. "I love you sis, but you need to live your own life, not mine."

She had to end this before she started crying and made a fool of herself. "I love you too Parker, I just never thought you would be so cruel."

She then hit the end button. The tablet was turned face down, so that if he tried to call again she would not be tempted to answer it. Rebecca's heart felt as though it was shattering, and it was all she could do not to scream. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her features tense with anguish.

"Rebecca?"

Max was coming into the room. She took a deep breath, and told herself that she'd be okay. Her brother could go screw himself. After everything that she had done for him, after everything that she had been through, the least he could do was be sympathetic towards her. Anger, that was it. She grasped onto every strand of anger that she could and pulled it towards her. She could live with anger, she could live with rage glimmering under the surface of her mind. What she couldn't live with was heartbreak, she couldn't take any more of that.

"Yes Max?"

He walked into the room with careful footsteps, obviously he was thinking that she was going to break at any moment. She pulled at anger again, proving once again that the more she was angry the more likely she would be to able to control herself.

His brow furrowed, but he still asked her the question she wasn't sure she could answer. "Are you okay?"

Rebecca drew in a shuddering breath, but reminded herself that now was the time to be made of steel. She could cry later, in the privacy of her new room. Hell, she could tear it apart again like she did the last time she had gotten overwhelmed by emotions. "Yes, I'm fine Max." It was a half truth, because at the moment she was anything but fine. Eventually, she would be though, and that was enough for her to justify her lying to Max.

"That's good then." He wrung his hands, and Rebecca could tell that he wanted to ask her something.

"Go ahead Max, I can tell there's something that you want to ask me."

He sat down in front of her again, his motions nervous. "There's something I wanted to ask you, since… Well since you seem to think that you are doing nothing to help us around here."

She nodded. "I'm willing to do anything that I can."

"Well." He paused, trying to find the right words. "We're going to try a new surgery this afternoon. You know that we cannot breathe without the exopacks on Pandora. The air isn't right for our lungs. I won't bore you with an explanation of the procedure, but we need someone to test this on. Essentially we'll be inserting a small version of the exopack into your windpipe that should be able to convert Pandoran air into oxygen."

"How long is the recovery?"

"You should be able to be up and walking within a day."

"Is it painful?"

"Not at all."

"Will I be able to breathe normal air?"

"We assume."

Rebecca paused, her thoughts in turmoil. Did she want to get surgery just because she didn't want everyone else to think that she wasn't doing her part? What if she couldn't breathe after she put this in her? Could she die? But her anger was running her thoughts at the moment, and there was nothing else she could do but say yes. She didn't want to be thought of as trying to take care of the world, and she wanted to do something that would prove her brother wrong. What she didn't see was that she was only proving him right by doing the surgery.

It took a little over thirty minutes to place the tiny cylinder inside her throat. The last thing she saw as she counted down from one hundred was Max's face above her. There had been a moment where she panicked, her heart rate skyrocketing before she passed out. She feared for her survival, but when she woke she barely noticed the difference. There was certainly something different to her breathing, it was harder to get air into her lungs, and she had to take more breaths than usual. But she was alive!

The next day, with her throat carefully wrapped in new bindings, she was allowed to go outside for the first time. Her first step onto Pandora without an exopack was something that was a bit of a gift to her. She took a deep breath, smelling for the first time the unique scent that Pandora had. It was beautiful to her, in a way that Earth was not any longer.

"Go visit Jake, he's interested to see how you do."

She waved at Max, and walked down the path towards the Hometree. Rebecca still had a difficult time speaking around the tube. It made it painful to speak, though she was slowly getting used to having a piece of metal in her windpipe. She had been told that it was strange to see her take so many breaths in such a short amount of time, but she was unable to breathe at a normal rate. She just didn't get enough air every time she took a breath.

It was certainly a change in her life that she was refusing to let herself regret. She had an easier time breathing inside, probably because there was less work that the machine in her throat was doing. Max said that it was all in her head, because it would still be working hard no matter what kind of air she was breathing in. But he wasn't the one with the machine in his windpipe, so she usually didn't care what he thought.

Hometree was busy today, with so many people walking around carrying food. There was probably a celebration going on tonight. Lately they had been celebrating every night, though Rebecca had forgotten to ask why they were doing so when she had seen Max. Her chest still ached whenever she remembered Parker's harsh words to her, but she was slowly accepting what he said as truths. She did want to take care of everyone, but that was something that she refused to be ashamed of.

Walking towards one of the female Na'vi, she asked for Jake Sully. The female jerked at the sound of her voice, which had a startling scratch and slightly robotic tone to it. She pointed over her shoulder, staring at Rebecca with a shocked expression on her face. Rebecca smiled and thanked her, making sure to remind herself not to speak unless spoken to.

When she found Jake, he was surrounded by a group of children gesturing wildly with his hands. Neytiri was not far off, and somehow managed to look beautiful even though she had four of the children hanging off of her. The woman never ceased to amaze Rebecca, because there was never a crack in her calm composure.

"Jake!" Rebecca managed to call, though she had to press her hand against her throat immediately. Pressure usually stopped the pain, though she didn't understand why.

As soon as he saw her, he jumped up. "Rebecca! How are you feeling?" He walked over to her and bent at the waist, obviously trying to get a closer look at her throat. "You mind if I take a look?"

She smiled and nodded, unwinding the bindings herself because she didn't quite trust him with it. Sure he was probably gentle, but his big fingers so near her burning throat didn't make her want to let him anywhere near her. "Gentle please." She coughed a little, her throat constricting around the words. "Still hurts."

His fingers brushed her throat, and he made a sound of surprise. "It's such a small cut!"

It certainly was. It was about the size of her thumb nail, though she wasn't sure how Max had managed to get the surgeon to make such a small cut. There were two stitches in it, something that again made her shocked when she woke up. "Yes."

Jake grinned at her. "Still can't talk huh?"

Rebecca nodded again, a grin on her face. And then she saw him. Tsu'tey, her own patient, propped up against a tree watching the rest of the Na'vi. Anger sparked in her eyes, and she pointed at him furiously.

"What?" Jake grinned.

If Rebecca could have managed a whole sentence, she would have told him off. But he was still laughing at her, and could barely even listen to her over the shrieks of the children. Stomping away from him, she walked straight over to Tsu'tey. "Back." She pointed in the direction of the avatar home.

He looked up at her with contempt in his eyes. What had changed since they had last seen each other? "Human. You cannot order me around."

She rolled her eyes, "Back!"

The Na'vi around them froze, and she realized that her tone was less then polite. He just happened to be the leader of this tribe, and she was the human that had walked through here without an exopack on. All the Na'vi around her suddenly realized this all at the exact time she did, and she froze in fear. Anger crossed some of their faces, and a few of the warriors grabbed onto their spears.

Fear made her freeze, and when she saw Tsu'tey grab his own knife, she felt her throat constrict. She couldn't breathe suddenly, her throat being so tight and the need for air so great. She let out a strangled sound and backed away from the Na'vi around her, hands against her throat as she tried to force air into her own lungs. "No." She tried to speak. "Please." The words were barely audible, the last air in her lungs being forced out. "Wait."

The faces in front of her were distrusting. She didn't blame them. There was something so different in front of them, something that they had never thought possible. A human breathing their air. Gasping, she tried to force air into her lungs by massaging her throat. But nothing seemed to get enough air into her. She could see the sparks of black around the edges of her vision that signaled to her that she was going to faint. Straight in front of her she could see Tsu'tey stand, and draw the knife that was held against his chest.

Her eyes widened as time seemed to slow. The closer he got to her, the more she focused on the anger on his face. Did he really distrust her that much? She could tell that he would kill her, and he would be happy doing it. There was that look in his eye, and here she was thinking that they had made some kind of connection. Did he even remember the look that they had shared?

As her knees weakened and she watched Death walk towards her, she realized that her fantasies about this creature before her were all wrong. Parker was right, they really were aliens. They didn't feel compassion towards other creatures, they didn't even care that she was dying before them and desperately trying to hang onto life. This creature didn't even care that there had been some kind of connection between them. Or maybe that was just a juvenile thought of Rebecca's own, something that she had made up in her mind and that he had felt nothing of.

"Stop!"

A blue back stepped before her, hands raised to protect her. Jake. Of course. Somehow she had forgotten that he was still here. He turned to her then, and placed his massive hand over her eyes, sending her vision into black. "Deep breaths Ms. Selfridge. You are safe here."

Slowly, Rebecca managed to gain control over herself. Being in the dark certainly helped, and the feeling of someone, anyone, touching her soothed an ache that she didn't realize she had. As time crawled by, she managed to breathe easier. Finally she placed her hands on Jake's wrist and pulled it away from her eyes. "How did you know that would work?" She asked after she took another deep breath.

He shrugged. "I didn't, I was hoping that it would."

She rolled her eyes, fear scuttling through her chest once more. What if that hadn't worked? Leave it to a marine to try it their way before going to a hospital. Backing away from him, she wiped her sweaty palms against her pants. "I, uh, thanks." Pointing behind him she added, "But I don't think they're going to thank you at all."

Jake looked over her shoulder at the muttering mass of Na'vi, and grinned. "Nah, you just scared 'em. They've never seen a human breathing their air. No one else has actually." He turned and spoke in Na'vi, but he spoke so fast that she couldn't understand him. She caught some words, such as throat, breathe, air, things that she was expecting him to say. But any other word that she wasn't looking for, well she couldn't say that she understood a word he said.

Then Tsu'tey spoke, and Rebecca felt as though another knife was plunged into her chest. "She does not belong here. Not with us, not anywhere." He pulled the knife at his chest. "We should kill her, and the rest of the skypeople that have stayed."

A few other Na'vi let out cries of agreement, and Rebecca's heart thumped painfully in her chest. Feeling another panic attack coming on, she wanted nothing more than to get away. When she looked around, she realized that almost none of the Na'vi were actually looking at her. Neytiri was the only one, and Rebecca knew that she would let her steal away.

So she turned on her heel and clambered through the woods, pushing and pulling herself through the weeds, over and under the roots, until she found a stream where she could sit and relax for a moment. Parker was right, she needed to stop helping people. This was what happened when she did, and she was only setting herself up for heartbreak. Rebecca cupped water into her hand and splashed it onto her face, cooling the heat that burned her cheeks.

There was a crunch behind her, making her wheeze as fear tightened her throat. Hand to her throat, she turned to see Tsu'tey standing behind her, hand on his knife. That was the last thing she wanted to see. Anger, not fear, made her stand and stare back at him defiantly. "What do you want?" She asked slowly in Na'vi. Her throat burned, and she could taste blood at the back of her throat, but she was not going to stand here and shame herself with broken sentences.

"You do not belong here."

He stood, stoic, before her. His back was straight, his eyes held a look of complete distaste, and his knife was still draw before her. It was not fear that made her soften, but the look of total hatred in his eyes. He really did hate her, more then she would ever have imagined. And after all that she had done for him!

"You have a lot of nerve to say that to me." She coughed into her hand, her tongue working in her mouth to get rid of the metallic taste of blood. "After I healed you."

He lurched forward, knife gesturing in the air in front of her. "You did not save me." He seemed to pause when she did not move away from him, or appear intimidated by his proximity. "Eywa saved me, not you."

Getting closer to him as well, Rebecca decided that this was going to have end in a battle. If he wanted to make her angry, if he wanted a fight, well she was going to give him one. In the mood that she was in at the moment, there was nothing that she wanted more than a fight. "Are you so prideful that you cannot even admit that a human saved your life?"

He took another step towards her, now less than a foot between them. "You dare question the power of Eywa?"

Rolling her eyes, Rebecca placed a hand on his chest and shoved. He didn't expect her to touch him at all, and Rebecca was certain that because of that he lost his balance. She didn't have enough strength to really knock him off of his feet, but he was standing on mossy rocks near a stream, and he had underestimated her strength. With a shocked look on his face, Tsu'tey staggered, tried to regain his footing, and then fell onto his back in the middle of the stream.

Screaming with laughter, Rebecca fell onto her own back. But this was only because she couldn't continue standing with the force of the laughter that was pealing out of her mouth. It was both mirthful and painful, since with every laugh that came out of her body her throat complained more and more. But there was nothing that she could do to stop the laughter, and the look on Tsu'tey's face only made her laugh harder.

Pointing at him, she giggled even harder. She tried to say, "You look funny!" But instead she coughed forcefully. Hacking, she coughed until she spat blood into her hand. She heaved a sigh, because she didn't dare groan for fear of more blood. This was something that she hoped would go away, because she didn't want to bleed every time that she spoke.

When she looked back up, she realized that Tsu'tey had remained in the water. He was sitting with his hands on his knees, staring at her with an expression on his face that she couldn't place. It had been her that had ruined the moment between them, her with her hacking and the blood. Keeping eye contact with him, she washed her hands in the river.

"You are injured."

She nodded, waving towards her throat. "I-" She coughed again, swallowing more blood. "Air." She finally managed to say in Na'vi. It was pride that made her speak in his language, though it also was easier to speak on her throat. With another cough, she made motions of breathing until he nodded at her.

"How?"

Scowling at him, she shook her head and pointed at her throat. But he continued to ask the same question until she signed her way through the surgery. He nodded, and Rebecca wouldn't be surprised if he actually understood what she was trying to tell him. The anger was mostly gone, though she could still see a darkness inside his eyes. Tsu'tey didn't like her. It was a realization that cut her to the bone, but also made her realize that she might be in over her head. When had she come to actually have a… crush on one of the aliens?

Shifting her weight onto her haunches, she weaved as she crouched. All of this had taken a lot out of her, and somehow she managed to feel horribly tired even though she had only had the surgery yesterday. Maybe it was that she had been knocked out during it. "Truce?" She said in English.

Tsu'tey shook his head when she held out her hand. "You are still of the skypeople. I do not trust you." He stood then, moving past her to pick up his knife which he had dropped. The wounds along his back had started bleeding, which Rebecca pointed to. Tsu'tey didn't even seem to notice them, and he certainly didn't acknowledge the fact that she was pointing to them.

Then he left, walking through the woods with a determination that made Rebecca think that he was running away from her. Sitting down, she ignored the water that seeped through her pants and chilled her flesh. How could he not feel the spark between them. She had felt it certainly. When he had been sitting in the water she could see the gooseflesh on his arms, and there had been a part of her that wanted to go to him and warm him with her own flesh.

He wouldn't have accepted that though. She could still feel his eyes on her skin, brands that had left awareness in their wake. With another shiver, she ran her fingers up her arms and tried to tell herself that there was nothing there for her. He was an alien, an alien that wanted to kill her. He had drawn a knife on her, walked towards her with deadly intent in his eyes.

But then, she still wanted him. It had changed from the last time that she had seen him. At first it had been a simple fascination. He was so different from anything that she had ever seen, and Jake had given her the right to touch him, to explore the body that she had never thought to see. Now the fascination had changed into attraction, and that was full blown attraction if she'd ever seen it before.

Sighing, she stood and rubbed at her throat. Since when had she fallen in love with the bad boys? She didn't like to work at a relationship! All her life, the boyfriends she had taken were know nothings that let her do what she wanted and did what she told them to do. But this man, no, this alien, wanted nothing to do with her. Dusting off her butt, she placed her hands on her hips and decided she was going to make the best of this. If Tsu'tey wanted a fight, then she would give him one. Besides, it would give her something to do on this god forsaken place.

She was lying to herself though. She wanted to take on this challenge because she was slowly going crazy on this planet, and she wanted nothing more than to have claim to the most handsome man, alien, creature that she had ever seen in her life.

Turning, she froze in fear once again. She didn't know where she was! Calling out, her voice was little more than a raspy whisper. "Help!" She coughed again, spitting blood out into her hands. "Someone!" She turned and walked away from the river, not realizing that she was going in the opposite direction then the Hometree. She walked through the forest, slowly breathing less and less from fear as the sun dipped to meet the horizon.

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Thanks for reading! And sticking with me through all this, I love you all so much! Little shoutout to sharith, if you didn't give me that review I might not have written this today. *snugs*

Rate and Review my lovely lovely readers!


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